Balcita, Bridgewater Lead Way For Boxers In Desert Duals
LAS VEGAS –
Bruce Balcita (So., Myrtle Creek, Ore.) and
Jared Bridgewater (So., Hillsboro, Ore.) each won three matches Sunday, leading a competitive day for a young Pacific men's wrestling team at the Wartburg Desert Duals, held at the Flamingo Hotel.
Balcita earned two pins on the day in matches at 165 pounds, going 40 seconds into the second round to fall Wartburg's Brett Yankovich and just slightly longer to pin Alma's Matt Tuttle. Balcita closed the day with an 11-9 decision victory over Simpson's Cory Stratton.
Bridgewater notched one pin against Alma, knocking off Brock Neeson in the second round. He opened the day with a 6-2 decision over Wartburg's Puma Soriano before closing the day with a forfeit victory in the dual against the Storm.
Pacific went 1-3 in the dual tournament, but fared well against some of the top competition at the NCAA Division III level. The Boxers won three matches in a 32-15 win over No. 1 ranked Wartburg, and received close matches from the bottom of the lineup in a 43-0 loss to No. 3 ranked Coe. The one victory came in a 27-13 decision over Alma before taking a hard-fought 23-16 loss to Simpson (Iowa).
With the 1-3 record in Vegas, the Boxers move to 2-4 in dual meets this season, all of which have been contested in the last three days.
Wartburg won the first five matches in the opener before the Boxers took three of the final five in the bout. Balcita put Pacific on the board with his pin of Yankovich and Wes Heredia (Fr., Keizer, Ore.) added a pin on his own at 197 pounds over Steve Klemenackis. Bridgewater closed out the dual with his 6-2 decision over Soriano.
Coe proved dominant from start to finish, notching four technical falls and a pin in the first seven matches. Bridgewater came closest to erasing the Pacific's zero, dropping a 4-3 decision in the heavyweight bout to Alex Burkle.
Alma, a first year NCAA Division III program, won three of the first four matches on their dual with Pacific, with the run being broken up by a first round pin at 141 pounds by
Ryan Baxter (Fr., Craig, Alaska) over Chris LeClere. The Boxers reversed the field after that, winning five of the final six bouts for the win. Balcita and Bridgewater punctuated the victory with their pins. The falls peppered around a trio of decision victories by
Chris Harlin (So., Issaquah, Wash.),
Caleb Malychewski (So., Camas, Wash.) and
Michael Tyner (Fr., Aloha, Ore.).
Pacific started against Simpson with a 9-0 deficit before Baxter put the Boxers on the board with a 13-0 major decision of Jeff Sand at 133 pounds. The Boxers once again received three victories in the final five matches by Balcita, Malychewski and Bridgewater, but the wins came too late for a comeback.
The Vegas competition is the last for Pacific before the Christmas break. The Boxers return to action on Fri., Jan. 6, with a rematch against Yakima Valley CC in Yakima, Wash.
WARTBURG DESERT DUALS
AT FLAMINGO HOTEL, LAS VEGAS
NO. 1 (NCAA III) WARTBURG 32, PACIFIC 15
125: Gilbert Camacho (WART) dec.
Zach Binkerd (PAC), 6-0 (3-0 WART)
133: Braxton Chiccely (WART) win by tech. fall over
Ian Hockett (PAC), 21-5 (8-0 WART)
141: Andrew Johnson (WART) maj. dec.
Ryan Baxter (PAC), 12-4 (12-0 WART)
149: Brandon Welter (WART) maj. dec. Devin Silva (PAC), 8-0 (16-0 WART)
157: Cameron Wagner (WART) maj. dec.
Michael Tyner (PAC), 12-1 (20-0 WART)
165:
Bruce Balcita (PAC) win by fall over Brett Yankovich (WART), 3:40 (20-6 WART)
174: Noah Minikus (WART) win by fall over
Chris Harlin (PAC), 6:17 (26-6 WART)
184: Sam Upah (WART) win by fall over Caleb Maychewski (PAC), 4:01 (32-6 WART)
197: Wes Heredia (PAC) win by fall over Steve Klemenackis (WART), 3:40 (32-12 WART)
285:
Jared Bridgewater (PAC) dec. Puma Soriano (WART), 6-2 (32-15 WART)
NO. 3 (NCAA III) COE 43, PACIFIC 0
125: Jimmy Gotto (COE) maj. dec.
Zach Binkerd (PAC), 15-5 (4-0 COE)
133: Jordan Westfall (COE) win by tech. fall over
Ian Hockett (PAC), 23-8 (10-0 COE)
141: Chris LeClere (COE) dec.
Ryan Baxter (PAC), 11-3 (13-0 COE)
149: James Locke (COE) win by fall over Devin Silva (PAC), 0:43 (19-0 COE)
157: Dale Handley (COE) win by tech. fall over
Michael Tyner (PAC), 15-0, 3:39 (24-0 COE)
165: Nick LeClere (COE) win by tech. fall over
Bruce Balcita (PAC), 19-4, 7:00 (29-0 COE)
174: Scott King (COE) win by tech. fall over
Andrew Bolton (PAC), 16-0, 4:43 (34-0 COE)
184: Ethan Ball (COE) dec. Caleb Maychewski (PAC), 7-1 (37-0 COE)
197: Donnie Horner (COE) dec. Wes Heredia (PAC), 12-9 (40-0 COE)
285: Alex Burkle (COE) dec.
Jared Bridgewater (PAC), 4-3 (43-0 COE)
PACIFIC 27, ALMA 13
125: Colin Lesko (ALMA) dec. Kevin Binkerd (PAC), 11-8 (3-0 ALMA)
133: Zack Case (ALMA) maj. dec.
Ian Hockett (PAC), 18-12 (7-0 ALMA)
141:
Ryan Baxter (PAC) win by fall over Joe White (ALMA), 1:21 (7-6 ALMA)
149: James Carey (ALMA) dec. Devin Silva (PAC), 6-2 (10-6 ALMA)
157:
Michael Tyner (PAC) dec. Brandon McLaughlin (ALMA), 4-2 (10-9 ALMA)
165:
Bruce Balcita (PAC) win by fall over Matt Tuttle (ALMA), 3:58 (15-10 PAC)
174:
Chris Harlin (PAC) dec. Fletcher Roberts (ALMA), 4-3 (18-10 PAC)
184:
Caleb Malychewski (PAC) dec. Paul Mikhjian (ALMA), 5-4 (21-10 PAC)
197: Conrad Bovee (ALMA) dec. Wes Heredia (PAC), 4-1 (21-13 PAC)
285:
Jared Bridgewater (PAC) win by fall over Brock Neeson (ALMA), 4:14 (27-13 PAC)
SIMPSON (IOWA) 23, PACIFIC 16
125: Devin Rausch (SC) dec.
Zach Binkerd (PAC), 15-11 (3-0 SC)
133: Spencer Courier (SC) win by fall over
Ian Hockett (PAC), 1:48 (9-0 SC)
141:
Ryan Baxter (PAC) maj. dec. Jeff Sand (SC), 13-0 (9-4 SC)
149: Stephen Blayer (SC) dec. Devin Silva (PAC), 8-4 (12-4 SC)
157: Bryan Haynes (SC) dec.
Michael Tyner (PAC), 8-3 (15-4 SC)
165:
Bruce Balcita (PAC) dec. Cory Stratton (SC), 11-9 (15-7 SC)
174: Justin Bruce (SC) dec.
Chris Harlin (PAC), 5-2 (18-7 SC)
184:
Caleb Malychewski (PAC) dec. Taylor Witzel (SC), 4-2 (18-10 SC)
197: Jared Bevins (SC) win by tech. fall over Wes Heredia (PAC), 19-1 (23-10 SC)
285:
Jared Bridgewater (PAC) win by forfeit (23-16 SC)
