COSTA MESA -- Vanguard men's wrestling took two out of three duals on Saturday as the squad beat the Fresno State club team 45-6 and Westcliff 33-9.  The Lions fell to Menlo 30-20.
 
What Happened?  Menlo 30  VU 20
The Lions were open at 125 pounds which started the action at 133 pounds between Noah Messman and Robert Villegas.  Villegas fought hard but could not keep up with Messman as the match moved on, as Messman won 10-3.  Fernando Barreto Jr. got the Lions on the board with a large 21-6 technical fall victory in the second frame.  Malikhi Espiritu and Noah Elliot engaged in a high-energy bout at 149 pounds and though Espiritu had some good moves, Elliot would prevail 19-4.  Ezekiel Lara beat Caidence Turner at 157 pounds 12-5 but Sunni Motas got the Lions on the scoreboard again.  He would take down John Quinonez 12-5 at 165 pounds and Marquize Brown followed that up at 174 pounds with a pin of Carson Howell.  Trailing 18-14, the Oaks got a pin from Maximus Zamora over Keagen Kroeger and the Lions were open at 197 pounds to put the dual out of reach.  However, Roman Torres gave VU a lift in the heavyweight battle, as he pinned Emit Mercado in the third period to bring the final score to 30-20.
 
VU 45  FS 6
This time, Villegas was in control at 133 pounds, as he rolled Gabriel Martinez for a pin in the first period.  Barreto then pinned Christian Saldana in the first period as well at 141 pounds, which brought Espiritu out at 149 pounds.  He tossed William Wareham around for a 23-8 technical fall victory that ended in the second frame.  Rafa Marquez was up next at 157 pounds and he stuck Damian Galvan to the mat in the second period for another VU pin.  Fresno State was open at 165 pounds and 174 pounds, leading into Keagen Kroeger's matchup with Jason Briseno at 184 pounds.  Kroeger was clinical in making a pin in the first period to put the Lions up 41-0.  The Blue and Gold were open at 197 pounds but Torres again closed out the dual with enthusiasm, as he defeated Michael Brent 20-6 to give the Lions the dual 45-6.
 
VU 33  WC 9
 
Villages and Barreto produced points for the Lions once more, as Villegas blanked Jesus Brecamontes 18-0 and Barreto pinned Anthony Tamay in the first period.  Espiritu and Santiago Pacheco traded shots but Espiritu had the stronger end to the bout as he closed out a 20-11 major decision.  Westcliff was open at 157 pounds and Mason Hernandez grabbed a 12-5 decision over Thomas Venezia to put Vanguard ahead 24-0 in the dual.  WC was open at 174 pounds and Kroeger claimed the final points for VU at 184 pounds in the closest bout of the day.  He and Davin Ito each made an escape and were locked at 1-1 after three periods.  But Kroeger jumped on top of Ito quickly in sudden victory, making a pin in 14 seconds to claim the win.  VU was open at 197 pounds and though he fought hard for the third time on the day, Torres lost to Gabriel Rangel 4-0.
 
What was Said?  "The guys have made a lot of improvement," said Head Coach Caleb Flores.  "We still have a lot to work on but I'm excited about the progress we have made.  We are looking forward to getting back to work on Monday."
 
What's Next?  The Lions will take on Minnesota State Moorhead at San Francisco State University on December 13 at 4:30 p.m.
 
What's Next?  The Blue and Gold will travel to Las Vegas for a multi-team tournament on December 15.