February 23, 1995
Due to its success in the NCAA Division II Western Regional qualifying tournament last weekend, the SF State wrestling team will field its top three wrestlers to the NCAA Division II National Championships March 3 and 4 in Kearney, Neb.
Polo Ornelas (167lbs.), Francis Aquino (134lbs.) and John Giuffre (167lbs.) will represent SF State at nationals.
Ten schools and 100 wrestlers competed in the all-day regional tournament at SF State.
The Gators placed third with 106.5 points, behind Portland State at 114.5 points and Chadron State at 127.5.
Ornelas walked away with the championship title in the 167-weight division.
In his matches, Ornelas scored most of his points defensively.
"I would just wait for him to make a mistake," Ornelas said. "I would wait for him to shoot with his arms out, and I would duck under, which is how you score points."
After getting a bye in the first round, Ornelas defeated his second opponent 13-5 and his third opponent 5-2.
After a two-hour break, Ornelas psyched himself up for the championship round, but was disappointed when his opponent, Corey Arndt from the University of Southern Colorado, pulled out with an injury default.
"It was a big let down for me," Ornelas said. "Being a senior, I wanted to perform in front of everyone. I knew I could win."
According to Ornelas, Arndt was injured going into the match and knew he could not defeat Ornelas. Arndt accepted the second place and saved his injury-wrapped body for the true-second wrestlebacks.
During the championship matches, the wrestlers pair off onto three mats: first and second place finishers on the middle mat, third and fourth place finishers on the inside mat and fifth and sixth place finishers on the outside mat.
After the first place championship match, if the second place qualifier has not beaten the third place finisher, they have a true-second wrestleback, which does not give the wrestler second for the tournament, but ranks him second for nationals.
Thirty wrestlers advance to nationals. The champions are automatically accepted and the coaches vote in the remaining 20. This year, the coaches voted in the top three finishers from each weight division.
In the 134-weight division, Aquino cruised past his first three opponents before falling to Martin Segovia (University of Nebraska-Kearney), 6-2, in the championship round. Segovia is ranked second in the nation.
Aquino took second in the tournament and won the true-second wrestleback, 7-0.
"I wrestled real tough up until the finals," Aquino said. "In the finals, I was too timid and cautious. I wasn't focused. It would have been a tough match if I would have given one hundred percent. I just gave it to him."
After a bye in his first round, Giuffre defeated his next two opponents 12-2 and 9-2. In the championship round he was defeated by Ryan Braden, 10-5.
"In the first two matches I wrestled like a champ," Giuffre said. "I was intense. I knew I had to win. In the championship match, my intensity level wasn't as high."
Although he placed second in the tournament, Giuffre lost the true-second wrestleback to Steve Kimpel (USC), 13-10.
"It was an emotional match because I had just come off of a loss," Giuffre said. "You can't wrestle that way. The guy had a unique style and that threw (my style) off. I wrestled his style."
In the 118-weight division Mark Valledor was put out in the second round of the consolation bracket by Steve Arnold, 7-5.
Gustavo Ceja placed fifth in the 126-weight division when his opponent, Maka Foster, forfeited in the fifth place match.
"I had a good season," Ceja, a senior, said. "I enjoyed wrestling with everyone and I had a lot of fun."
Abundio Andrede finished fifth in the 142-weight division defeating Jason Trussler, 10-5, in the fifth place match.
In the 150-weight division, Courtney Kellogg placed sixth for the Gators, losing to Jason Godwin 7-0 in the fifth place match.
Jon Perez was defeated in the second round of the consolation bracket in the 177-weight division.
Lee Lofton lost a close 2-1 overtime match in the second round of the championship bracket. He finished fifth in the 190-weight division after defeating Sean Bates, 5-2.
After losing his first match 8-3, Phil Zimolzak finished fifth in the heavyweight division.
"I'm not as big as most of these guys," Zimolzak said. "I shoot, but outside. I use my quickness to get out of their way. I get out of their way so they can't land on me."
Coach Lars Jensen is satisfied with his team's performance in the regional tournament.
"They all wrestled really well," Jensen said. "I'm a little disappointed that we don't have more guys going to nationals. It was an improvement from last year. We're getting better and better."
SF State's three national competitors are looking forward to the tournament.
"There is a lot of competition up there," Ornelas said. "Last year, I was too defensive, but this year I will be more aggressive."
According to Aquino, he has "nothing to lose" and he will "wrestle one hundred percent."
Giuffre needs to win two matches in nationals to reach his goal, set at the beginning of the season, to be an All-American.
"I have a do-or-die attitude," Giuffre said. "I'm going to wrestle my ass off."