LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- The Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas hosted plenty of wrestling on Saturday and the VU men's team went 1-2.  VU fell to Colorado State Pueblo 33-12 and Minnesota State 46-5 before beating the club team for Washington State 34-12.  The Lions are now 3-5 in duals this season.
 
What Happened?  VU 12 CSUP 33
VU was open at 125 pounds and though Robert Villegas fought hard against Eddie Bowman at 133 pounds, Bowman would prevail 18-2.  Fernando Barreto Jr. got the Blue and Gold on the board with a 21-6 victory over Hayden Tuma at 141 pounds and Malikhi Espiritu took down Cole Bennett 12-2 at 149 pounds.  Caidence Turner was about to force his bout against Cyruss Meeks at 157 pounds to go the distance but the CSUP wrestler snuck in a takedown in the third period.  Sunni Motas was pinned in the third period by Aaron Concepcion at 165 pounds and Marquize Brown was searching for a late takedown but could not make one, as he fell to Solomon Arnds-Volcin at 174 pounds 9-7.  Isaiah Hernandez got the final points for Vanguard in the dual as he outlasted Remington Winmill at 197 pounds 17-12 before Henry Stern beat Roman Torres 4-0.
 
VU 5 MS 46
The lineup had a couple of changes against Minnesota State, but only Barreto Jr picked up points for the Lions, as he finished off Brayden Sonnentag 21-6 before the regulation buzzer sounded.  The other close match for Vanguard was Hernandez against Drake Hayward at 174 pounds, as the two engaged in a defensive bout.  Hernandez fought valiantly for a late point but could not find one, falling 6-5.  Unfortunately, the Blue and Gold struck out on everything else.  Villegas fell to Chase Beckett 10-0 and Espiritu lost to Walker Bents 17-0.  Rafa Marquez hopped in at 167 pounds but was pinned in the second period.  Mason Hernandez was pinned in the opening frame by Kole Marko at 165 pounds and Brown lost 19-1.  Keagen Kroeger got a single escape at 184 pounds in a 19-1 decision and Torres was pinned by Tanner Gaffey in the third frame.
 
VU 34 WSU 12
The Lions took on the club team of Washington State and prevailed to end the day with some glory.  Villegas pinned Kobe Bui early in the second period and Barreto Jr. stuck John Conlan quickly to the mat in the first period.  Espiritu and Ryan Wilson exchanged takedowns and escapes, and Espiritu looked to be in charge, but he could not break the defense of Wilson in the final period, who narrowly escaped with a 13-12 decision.  Marquez was then pinned by Mitchell Helgert and Mason Hernandez was toppled by Aydin Peltier 7-0.  However, VU won the rest of the matchups, with Brown getting back to his winning ways with a pin of Olin Hill in the first frame.  Kroeger pinned Simon Ross in the first period and Isaiah Hernandez beat David Darroch 13-4.  Torres ended the day with a pin of Evann Tauscher.
 
What's Next?  VU will travel to New Mexico for duals against New Mexico Highlands, Simonr Fraser, and Otero JC on January 5.