2022-23 Men's Wrestling Schedule
Entering the fourth season under head coach Caleb Flores, the Vanguard men's wrestling team will encounter a tough 2022-23 schedule featuring a handful of nationally ranked teams and a mixture of dual matches and tournaments.
"We are excited to kick off the 2022-23 season with a mixture of familiar faces and new guys in the lineup," said Head Coach Caleb Flores. "We wanted to really challenge our team and compete against the best teams in the country regardless of the division. The journey through this year's regular season competitions will prepare us for Conference and Nationals."
The Lions, which finished last season ranked No. 18 in the nation, will hold an intra-squad scrimmage on Saturday, October 29 on the VU Soccer Field at 10:00 a.m.
The first regular season competition will be a dual against California Baptist on Saturday, November 5. In addition, a group of freshmen and sophomores will travel to Fresno City College to compete in the Bill Musick Open.
VU will head out-of-state for the first time the following weekend, stopping in Prescott, Ariz. for the Mile High Duals and Mile High Open on consecutive days. The Lions will face three opponents on November 11 in Midland (Neb.), New Mexico Highlands and Simpson.
Making their furthest trip of the season, the Lions will head to Marietta, Ga., to compete in the Life Open on Saturday, November 19 for an individual tournament against some of the nation's top competition.
The schedule morphs into December when the Lions will get their lone hosting opportunity, welcoming in Arizona Christian and Menlo. The matches will be held at a site to be determined against a pair of Cascade Collegiate Conference opponents, including the Oaks, which finished the 2021-22 season ranked 15th nationally.
The 2022 portion of the schedule concludes on Sunday, December 18 at the Reno Tournament of Champions, which will feature some of the top individuals across NCAA Division I and the NAIA.
Ringing in 2023, VU will engage in another individual flighted tournament – this time at the Menlo Invitational on Saturday, January 7.
The remainder of the slate will all take place in dual meets. The Lions return to the state of Arizona to face Arizona Christian on Friday, January 13. The following day, VU participates in the ERAU Duals – battling No. 19 Southern Oregon as well as host and No. 14 Embry-Riddle.
VU and Menlo face off again in Atherton on Friday, January 27 and the Lions conclude the regular season on January 28 at San Francisco State.
The CCC Championships will be contested on February 17-18 at Embry-Riddle. For any Lions who qualify, the 66th Annual NAIA National Championship will take center stage on March 3-4 at Hartman Arena in Wichita, Kan.
VU returns some top talent at 174 pounds with Gerardo Hernandez (SR/Mission Viejo, CA) and 184 pounds with Baron Gaunt (SO/Torrance, CA). Both wrestlers lost in the round of 12 at nationals last season, just missing out on All-America recognition.
A pair of former national qualifiers are also expected to provide solid contributions as Gabriel Cortez (JR/Covina, CA) (149 pounds) and Mike Ruiz (SO/Orange, CA) (heavyweight) return to the squad.
