STRONG OPEN

By Brandon Petersen

It wasn't necessarily the result it was looking for but the Westcliff men's wrestling team came away from its first Cascade Collegiate Conference tournament with a solid showing – there were ups, and there were downs, but the Warriors beat expectations and even came home with some hardware.

In typical 5Cs fashion, Westcliff was awarded the league's sportsmanship award and came home with a commemorative plaque which will proudly be displayed on campus.

It's a symbol of the program's bourgeoning influence as a wrestling power, and way to look back on a year that must be considered a resounding success for a first-year outfit.

At 125, Will Moore just missed qualifying for nationals after making a small slip in the final minute of a match he was leading by seven.

Despite finishing sixth overall and just missing the cut, Moore was able to take out the No. 25 ranked wrestler in the nation.

At 133, Santiago Pacheco took sixth as well, again, just one spot short of nationals.

Pacheco also took down a nationally-ranked wrestler, No. 21, to earn his sixth-place finish.

At 165, Thomas Venezia just missed out on qualification in the blood rounds.

Jesus Bracamonte injured himself in Round 1 and pulled out, and Caiman Garcia, Gabriel Rangel and Elijah Muniz all went 0-2 and bowed out early.

The Warriors finished eighth overall in their first season of CCC competition after being picked to finish last.

"Overall, it wasn't necessarily the result we wanted, but it was not a bad showing for a first-year program," Westcliff head coach D'Rell Gist said. "We had a decent showing."

OAKS OPEN RESULTS

125: Will Moore – Fourth Place

141: Santiago Pacheco – Third Place

165: Thomas Venezia – Second Place

184: Davin Ito – 0-2

197: Caiman Garcia – 0-2

HW: Gabriel Rangel – Third Place

Coach's Comments: "Overall, our men's team looked good. It looks like we are starting to peak at the right time. It was awesome to see that two Westcliff athletes (Rangel, Pacheco) had the two most falls in the tournament, especially since there was some really tough competition there. It was also awesome to have Thomas in the finals! We will continue to work as a team and get better every day."

On Moore: "Will Moore had his first tournament back since Embry Riddle. He picked up some good pins and made a few silly mistakes. We'll make some adjustments and bounce back at conference."

On Pacheco: "He kept a great pace out there and picked up three falls. He had the second most falls in the entire tournament. His only loss was a decision to a D1 kid from Oregon State."

On Venezia: "A runner-up finish, he wrestled really tough. He was very offensive on his feet and aggressive on top. His only loss was to D12 Cal Poly in the finals."

On Rangel: "Gabriel picked up four falls. He had the most falls out of every person in the entire tournament. His only loss was a close decision to a D2 kid from Simon Frazier."