Cal Poly’s wrestling team defeated UC Davis 34-7 in Friday night’s meet in Mott Gym for the last dual meet of the season, bringing their overall record to 8-4.
The Mustangs have remained in the spotlight all season, in part due to three of their wrestlers beingranked in the top 10 nationally. The win against Davis completes the regular season and will take the Mustangs to the Pac-10 conference championships at the end of February. Coach John Azevedo said that the guys are excited because they have been training the whole season to be Pac-10 champs, and in two weeks, they will have that chance.
“We got two weeks to kind of really get our heads on and get ready to go,” Azevedo said. “Now is the time to really be our best.”
Starting with the first match, Cal Poly proved that they are in championship form. Senior Micah Ferguson took down the competition with a score of 9-4, putting the Mustangs in the lead from the start.
The Mustangs stumbled a bit in the 133 weight match.
Boris Novachkov, ranked 8th in the nation, lost 6-3 against Brandon Low, who is currently ranked 15th. Cal Poly took over from there as Filip Novachkov, currently ranked number 5, won his match against Bryan Osuna with a fall at the 1:24 mark in the first round. Novachkov said he was happy to get the fall but was also disappointed that his brother didn’t win, admitting that that might have contributed to his pin.
“I was kinda pissed off cause my brother lost before, so I was a little extra pissed off during my match,” Novachkov said. “I wanted Boris to win more than I wanted myself to win tonight because his guy was good and Boris needed that. He’s going to push it hard and come back for Pac- 10’s.”
Filip Novachkov brought Cal Poly into the lead again, 9-3, going into the 149 weight round. Cal Poly’s Nick Fisher, squaring off against number 15 Barrett Abel, had a brutal match. Fisher received a bloody nose in the first quarter. Keeping Fisher pumped up, as blood on the matt was cleaned up, the crowd yelled, “Long drive home Davis,” and “Lets go fish,” before the match started again. With 20 seconds left in the second quarter, Abel received a blow to the head and lost consciousness. As Abel was no longer able to compete, Fisher won by injury default bringing the Mustangs score to 15-3.
After Fisher’s physical match, Chase Pami, ranked 11th nationally, won his final dual match as a Mustang against Trevor Machado, with a score of 13-2. Five of the points were accumulated from near falls. Pami said he looks forward to the Pac-10 championships now that his injuries are mending. Pami hurt his rib three weeks ago in practice.
“It’s been hurting me and bugging me, but I feel like the last couple days I’ve let it heal up,” he said. “Two weeks from now, it will be healed up, and my body is going to feel great.”
The Mustangs kept their momentum rolling after halftime. Steven Vasquez competed against Joey Wilson, winning 3-1 by a two-point take down and escape. No. ranked 19 in 174 weight Ryan DesRoches came out strong, racking up nine points in the first quarter alone. With a 19-8 DesRoches win, Cal Poly rose to a 26-3 advantage.
The Mustangs continued to win with Kelan Bragg getting 9-5 against Rory McBryde in the 184 weight, while the crowd yelled, “Let’s Bragg about it.” Ryan Smith, in the 197 weight earned a technical fall at 5 minutes and 27 seconds beating Abe Otrambo 23-8.
The last match of the night was Jim Powers against Davis’ heavyweight Ricky Alcada, ranked 16 in the nation. Powers lost 14-5, making the final score 34-7.
Pami said that they are almost ready to peak as a team.
“Pac 10’s are two weeks away. We have a break and were going to put in a hard cycle,” Pami said. “We’re going to get a good rest and be ready to go.”
Cal Poly’s will participate in the Pac-10 Conference Championships February 26-27, held at UC Davis.