Rocklin, CA -- The Vanguard Wrestling team recovered from their dual last night against Life Pacific and bussed up to Menlo College to take on the Oaks. It was an intense dual, with highs and lows for both teams. But at the end of the night, Carson Hatch (FR/Hughson, CA) was able to hold off Oscar Diaz and snag three points for the Lions to take the dual 19-18. The Lions hand Menlo their first dual loss (6-1) and go to 5-4 on the season themselves.
What Happened? Menlo got six free points with the Lions open at 125-pounds, so VU had Mario Barrios (SR/Covina, CA) up first against Jacob Mendoza at 133-pounds and the senior could not find much traction. Mendoza had him early and often, with Barrios getting one escape but not being able to find a takedown. Mendoza got another takedown in the third to seal the win in a 5-1 decision victory to bump the Menlo lead to 9-0.
Steven Kroesen (SO/Laguna Hills, CA) then squared off against Logan Avina-Barajas at 141-pounds. Kroesen struggled a little early on, with the Menlo wrestler making the first takedown. But from there, Kroesen powered up and allowed only one escape, going on to win 7-3 to get VU on the board.
With Menlo up 9-3, Elijah Palacio faced Michael Leininger (SO/Rancho Bernardo, CA) at 149-pounds. Leininger made a couple of good moves but then left himself exposed for a counter-attack, which Palacio executed to perfection. Palacio got the pin and took the Menlo lead to 15-3.
Adam Valdez (SR/Barstow, CA) helped get the Lions back on track in a thrilling dual against Abraham Del Toro at 157-pounds. Valdez was on the back foot early on and almost got pinned twice during the first period, but he held on to make it to the second frame. Valdez then struck back with a four-point move and got another takedown to tie the match up. However, Del Toro was not ready to concede and the tension mounted. Valdez had more in the tank though and collected a pair of takedowns in the third to pull away and win 11-8 over Del Toro. Giving Vanguard some energy, Valdez cut the deficit to 15-6.
The most anticipated match of the night was the rubber meeting between Ricky Padilla (SR/Azusa, CA) and Rysan Leong at 165-pounds. Each had defeated the other once this season, but Padilla would make it two in a row over Leong. Padilla was in control of the match overall, giving up two escapes and making takedowns in each period to win 10-2. With the win, VU trailed the Oaks 15-10.
Gerardo Hernandez (JR/Mission Viejo, CA) then faced Jordan Bernal at 174-pounds and a very close bout ensued. Each got a takedown but it would be Hernandez who would get the final say, securing another takedown to win 4-2 to collect the points for VU.
Down 15-13, Armon Fayyazi (SR/Irvine, CA) went at it for VU at 184-pounds against Maximus Zamora. Zamora gave Fayyazi some trouble, as he got a couple of takedowns over the first two periods. But the senior was never in real jeopardy, as he used his size to his advantage, eventually winning 9-6. With four wins in a row, the Blue and Gold took their first lead in the dual 16-15.
But Hunter Hames put the Oaks ahead in a very narrow victory over Isaiah Hernandez (FR/Selma, CA). Each wrestler made one takedown but the lone escape by James was enough to give him the 3-2 victory.
The Oaks led 18-16 going into the heavyweight fight and Diaz and Hatch squared off with a roaring Menlo fan section trying in the background. Hatch got the early escape to go ahead 1-0 but Diaz leveled the score at the beginning of the second period, as he started in the down position and eventually broke free. Hatch made a couple of takedowns in the period but they were canceled out because he took Diaz out of bounds. Eventually, though, Hatch did find a way to generate a takedown on Diaz in play, giving him a 3-1 lead. Diaz tried his best, earning an escape to cut the gap to 3-2, but Hatch had him on weight and size and Diaz could not knock the VU wrestler over, as Hatch picked up the 3-2 decision. The three points pushed VU just ahead of Menlo at the finish line to take the dual 19-18.
What was Said? "A good win for our team beating a top-10 ranked program," said Head Coach Caleb Flores. "It's a good measurement to see the improvement we have made since the last time we wrestled Menlo. But it's only the start, our guys need to keep believing and trusting in the process. Looking to use this momentum going forward."
What's Next? Vanguard will next travel to Arizona for a pair of duals, beginning with Providence on February 4 at 4:00 p.m. in Prescott.
