Larson, Orozco, Monteiro Reach Pac-10 Title Matches

DAVIS, Calif. -– Mike Larson, Riley Orozco and Mitch Monteiro each went 2-0 during the opening day of the 2010 Pac-10 Wrestling Championships, earning the right to battle for their respective title matches Saturday on the campus of UC Davis. Reaching the title matches also secured an NCAA berth for each of the three CSUB wrestlers.

The Roadrunners are in fourth in the overall team standings with 79.5 points. Cal Poly leads the field of eight with 108.5 points, Oregon State is in second (102 points) and Boise State is third (97.5 points).

Larson, the No. 3 seed at 184 pounds, opened action with a 5-2 win over No. 6 Mark Savalle of Cal State Fullerton. He then upset No. 2 Zack Giesen of Stanford in the semifinals to reach the title match. The redshirt freshman from McKinleyville, Calif., will face No. 1 seed Kirk Smith of Boise State Saturday evening.

At 197 pounds, Orozco earned the No. 1 seed and moved smoothly to the championship match with an 11-2 major decision over No. 8 Michael Hawkins of Arizona State and a 9-3 decision over No. 4 Matt Casperson of Boise State. The Bakersfield junior will face No. 3 Ryan Smith of Cal Poly in the title match.

Monteiro, the No. 1 seed at heavyweight, used a pair of 8-1 decisions to move into the title match. The senior beat No. 8 Dylan Rush of Stanford in the opening round, then decisioned No. 5 Kurt Klimeck of Cal State Fullerton in the semifinals. Monteiro will have to fend off No. 3 Clayton Jack of Oregon State in order to repeat as the Pac-10 heavyweight champion.

Four additional Roadrunners are one win away from competing for third place in their respective divisions. At 125 pounds, No. 6 Frank Lomas won his opening match against No. 3 Allen Bartelli of Boise State, 11-7, then fell 3-2 to No. 2 Jason Lara of Oregon State. He will face No. 4 Andre Gonzalez of Cal State Fullerton for a chance to compete for third.

At 133 pounds, No. 8 Justin Durham went 1-1 Friday and will face No. 4 Ben Ashmore of Arizona State Saturday. The winner will advance to the third place match and the loser will compete for fifth. No. 5 Elijah Nacita (141 pounds) and No. 3 Joey Granata (165 pounds) also both went 1-1 and are one win away from competing for third on Saturday.

The final three Roadrunners – John Cardenas, Andrew Balch and Trevor Hall, each went 0-2 and will battle for seventh place when competition resumes.

Semi final consolation matches begin at noon Saturday, followed by fifth and seventh place matches. Championship finals begin at 4 p.m.

Courtesy of CSUB Sports Information