ATHERTON, Calif. -- Seven men's wrestlers for Vanguard University competed in the Menlo College Open on Saturday. Despite the size of the squad, VU got some quality results, with three podium placers. The Lions were led by Baron Gaunt (SO/Torrance, CA), who was crowned the 184-pound champion at the event. Mike Ruiz (SO/Orange, CA) finished second in the heavyweight bracket and Julian Leon (FR/Fontana, CA) finished third in the 133-pound bracket.
What Happened? Gaunt did not lose in the three matches he took part in. He took Aidan Stevenson of the University of Alberta down with an 11-2 major decision and followed that up with a 12-5 victory over Fabian Miranda-Walls of Southern Oregon. The first-place match was a lot closer than his previous bouts, as Isaiah Morales of the hosting Oaks was fueled by the home faithful. Gaunt made the first takedown in the second but two escapes from Morales made it even at 2-2 heading into the third. Gaunt started in the down position in the third and even though he did not get up immediately, he made a reversal to take a 4-2 lead. Morales got one escape but nothing else, with Gaunt being crowned a winner with a 4-3 score.
Ruiz also had only three matches, with the heavyweight taking down Jaden Martin of Southern Oregon via pin in his opening feature. He was then given a victory over Antonio Dacosta of Menlo, who had to back out due to an injury. Moving on to the finale, Ruiz faced Nate Glass of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, with Glass taking the top prize by pining Ruiz.
Leon had to go to sudden victory against Benjamin Martinez in his first dual, but he was able to make the winning move to claim a 7-5 victory. He then faced Menlo's Jovan Garcia and the two seemed very evenly matched throughout the bout. But Garcia pulled out the extra point late in the match to win 3-2. That sent Leon to the third-place feature, pitting him against Simon Graeber of Southern Oregon. Leon was able to exhibit more control in the match and pulled away to win 9-5 to take the bronze.
Matthew Terrence (FR/Fresno, CA) did not slack off in the 125-pound bracket, as he took part in the most matches for VU. He first squared off against Talon Hird of Alberta and pinned him to advance. Dom Mendez of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo put a damper on the day, as he was able to defeat Terrence 7-5. But Terrence was quickly back to his winning ways over his next two bouts, as he pinned fellow VU wrestler Zach Stone (FR/Yorba Linda, CA) and then routed Benjamin Reid of Alberta with a 17-1 technical fall victory. He then blanked Cristian Vasquez 4-0 to get to the third-place match. Unfortunately, Koda Holeman of San Luis Obispo had his number, as he made a couple of extra takedowns to snag third with an 8-6 score. Terrence placed fourth, ending the day 4-2 at the event. Stone lost to Holeman before losing to Terrence, leaving him 0-2.
Gabriel Cortez (JR/Covina, CA) went 1-2 in the 149-pound bracket, as he started his day with a 7-2 victory over Thomas Chapman of Menlo. However, he lost his next two to Abe Hinrichsen (4-1) and Kasisu Graham of Menlo (pin). Ruben Rodriguez (FR/Chula Vista, CA) lost to Travis Thorpe of Southern Oregon via pin to open the 157-pound bracket but then was able to secure a riding time decision victory over Richard Guruel of Menlo. That pitted him against Josiah Hurd, who pinned Rodriguez to end his day.
What was Said? "The guys competed really well today," said Head Coach Caleb Flores. "We were excited to see the improvements that they have made over the Christmas break and this bodes well for things to come. We have more work to do and some big duals coming up."
What's Next? Vanguard head over to Glendale for a dual against Arizona Christian on Friday, January 13, at 5:30 p.m.