GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Vanguard men's wrestling team opened the 2024 portion of the season with a split, taking down Arizona Christian 28-17 but falling to #19 Eastern Oregon 29-12 in Cascade Collegiate Action.  The Lions are now 2-4 in duals on the season, EOU is 7-2, and ACU is 6-11.
 
What Happened?

EOU 29 VU 12
The Lions were able to get on the board first against Eastern Oregon, as Dominic De'Altonaga and Zach Mauras exchanged takedowns in a thrilling encounter in the 125-pound battle.  The two combined for 35 points, with De'Altonaga putting on a clinic late to win 21-14.  EOU then got six points as VU was open at 133 pounds, but Malikhi Espiritu leveled the dual at 6-6 with a win over Josh Colling at 141 pounds.  The two again ran up the score but Espiritu punched through towards the end to claim a 16-15 decision victory.  Bryant Avila was then pinned by AJ Rockwell at 149 pounds as Vanguard fell behind 12-6, but Noah Elliott closed the gap to 12-9.  He earned three points in the 157-pound tussle as he edged out Michael Fox 7-5 with another late takedown. 
 
But the Lions would only take one more weight-class victory the rest of the dual.  Parker Robinson would narrowly edge out Ruben Rodriguez in the 165-pound match 3-0.  Marquize Brown was the other Lion to get a victory, as he defeated Wylee Lindeen 8-1 in the 174-pound meeting.  However, Jacob Potts was pinned by Kyle Knudtson in the 184-pound fight.  Jay Smith beat Isaiah Hernandez 15-0 at 197 pounds and LeRoy Garibay put up a tenacious battle at the heavyweight class, but could not come up with a late point and fell 4-3 to Darrian Hoobery.
 
VU 28 ACU 17
De'Altonaga had to go to overtime in his second bout of the night, as he was tied 1-1 against James Maheras at the end of regulation.  But De'Altonaga got the late takedown to win 3-0 to put the Blue and Gold up by that same score in the dual.  At 133 pounds, the Lions were open again to fall behind 6-3, but Espiritu put up an emphatic 23-5 technical fall victory over Channing Porter in the 141-pound scrap to send the Lions ahead 8-6.  The positive energy continued as Avila avenged his earlier loss by edging out Rico Robles 5-4 at 149 pounds and Elliott brushed aside Syage Ryan 21-2.
 
Carlo Castagnaro upended Rodriguez 7-0 but VU earned two straight pins after that.  Brown put Bronson Swan to the mat at the 174-pound bout and Potts stuck Jacob Ford to the mat in the 184-pound skirmish.  Hernandez fought with great tenacity at 197 pounds, but Michael Moreno would take the matchup 13-6.  But Garibay closed out the win with an 18-2 technical victory over Zion Longsine at the heavyweight class to help Vanguard clinch the dual 28-17.
 
What was Said? "The guys wrestled well," said Head Coach Caleb Flores after the end of the night's action.  "We were able to get some guys back in the lineup who have been injured.  We have a lot to work on, but I like how our team competed."
 
 
What's Next?  The Lions will host their final home dual of the season, as they welcome San Francisco State to the Seymour Sanctuary on Thursday, January 11, at 7:00 p.m.