COSTA MESA -- Vanguard men's wrestling took on Mountain Pacific Sports Federation foe San Francisco State Friday night in the Freed Center, but the Gators prevailed 25-14.  VU dropped to 4-6 in duals, while SFS improved to 7-4 after beating Westcliff earlier in the evening.
 
What Happened
Jovanni Evangelista went the distance against Hayden Ancheta, and no points were scored through two periods at 125 pounds.  However, Ancheta got a reversal and held Evangelista to the mat in the third for a 4-0 win.  Down 3-0 in the team score, Zachary Klarcyk went against Zachary Wright at 133 pounds, and after a scoreless first period, Klarcyk got an escape to begin the second frame.  Though Klarcyk had Wright on one foot for a chunk of the period, he could not score again in the second.  Wright started in the down position in the third and soon tied things with an escape.  But finally, to the delight of the crowd, Klarcyk threw Wright down for three points.  Another takedown and some four-point moves allowed Klarcyk to win 15-2 and tie the dual at 3-3.
 
Robert Villegas took on Khaisen Chen at 141 pounds, and Villegas had most of the offense in the first period, though he only led 1-0 after three minutes.  Wright vaulted ahead with seven unanswered points after that, and Villegas could not recover, falling 10-2.  Hercules Windrath was up next at 149 pounds as he faced Jackson Morgan.  After two scoreless frames, Windrath made an escape and then a takedown to surge into the lead with a minute to go.  Even though Morgan had more riding time, Windrath had done enough to win 4-2, which included surviving a late challenge on a potential takedown by SF State.
 
Vince Partington challenged Basil Othman at 157 pounds, but Othman had the first takedown.  Partington got on the board via an escape in the middle stanza, but trailed 10 entering the third and fell 17-5.  The Gators were ahead in the dual 11-6 and soon increased that edge to 17-6.  Cole Shafer worked against Kyle Botelho at 165 pounds, but the SF State man went up 3-0 in the first minute of the opening frame.  Botelho allowed Shafer to make some escapes while generating four takedowns and then a pin to secure all six points for San Francisco State.
 
Mason Hernandez and Kydyn Lima were up next at 174 pounds, and Lima swarmed to a 10-1 advantage in the first period.  Lima went on to score a 19-6 technical fall victory.  At 184 pounds, Marquize Brown and Gavin Funk began with Brown doing the damage, scoring seven points in the first minute and almost getting a pin.  He went on to complete a technical fall victory in the first period 17-0 to put VU down 22-11.
 
Asa Goff represented VU at 197 pounds and faced Laith Gilmore, and at the end of the first, Goff forced Gilmore onto one leg and turned that into a takedown.  Goff held Gilmore down for almost the entire second interval, but Gilmore eventually made an escape to trail 3-1.  Goff continued to play stellar defense and went on to win 3-1.  But though he won by decision, VU was eliminated from winning the dual, trailing 22-14 with one class remaining. 
 
The heavyweights, David Baxter and Emilio Franco Sandoval, could not gain a ton of traction.  Eventually, Franco Sandoval made a takedown, and though Baxter made an escape, Franco Sandoval won 3-2.
 
What is Next?  The Blue and Gold travel to Cal Poly Humboldt on January 23 for another MPSF matchup.