RESULTS

ATHERTON, CA – The Menlo NCWA Men's Wrestling program opened their 2025-26 season in dramatic fashion inside of Haynes-Prim Pavilion, rallying from behind to defeat Victor Valley 25-17 in front of a packed home crowd.  
 
New Faces Leading the Way
Junior Transfer Daniel Arrellano opened the season for the Oaks at 125lbs with a high-energy battle to set the tone. In a back-and-forth battle, Arrellano racked up three takedowns and was able to come out on top with a 14-11 decision, earning his first win in a Menlo singlet and putting the team on the board with the opening 3 points. 
 
Victor Valley was able to answer back at 133 technical fall and a major decision at 141 to put up 9 points to their team score. Senior Eric Smith-Williams struck back with 2 takedowns at 149 to ground out a gritty 7-3 decision to cut the deficit. Despite giving up two major decisions at 157 and 165, the Oaks refused to back down. Freshman Ian Rodriguez shifted the energy in the gym at 174, pinning Antonio Avila to bring Menlo within striking distance.
 
From there, the Oaks dominated the final three matches of the night. Senior Daniel Hernandez Marcos rolled to an 11-2 major decision at 184 while Matthew Porras Diamond followed with a pin to put the Oaks in the lead 22-17 heading into the final bout of the night. Freshman heavyweight Giovanni Navarro Jr. delivered a dramatic finish in the final night of the night, breaking a 3-3 tie with a last-second takedown to earn a 6-3 decision to close the night out.
 
Up Next…
With momentum under their belt, the Oaks will head up north to Redding, CA for the Simpson Duals tomorrow November 1. Make sure to use menloathletics.com for livestream, livestats, and ticket links!