ATHERTON, CA – The Non-NCAA Men's Wrestling program showcased a dominant performance across the board at the NCWA WCC Championship. The Oaks were able to capture second place with 183 team points and qualified every wrestler that competed in the tournament.

Oaks Placements
Julian Sanchez (125 – 2^nd) – Freshman Julian Sanchez was Head Coach Cristian Vasquez's first ever national qualifier. Sanchez was able to earn two pins and a tech fall to earn a spot in the finals match. Despite the strong performance on the day, Sanchez fell in the finals and took second.

Giancarlo Plaza (133 – 2^nd) – The next wrestler that was able to qualify for the tournament was Giancarlo Plaza. Plaza was able to earn a fall in the quarterfinals and then a tech fall In his semifinal bout 17-1. Despite the strong effort, Plaza fell in the finals by major and took silver.

Dominick Clark (141 – 7^th) – Bumping up from 133, Dominick Clark stepped up and took the spot at the 141-pound weight class on short notice. Clark was able to qualify for the national tournament by placing 7^th and added 12.5 team points. To start the day, Clark was edged out 1-4 in his opening bout but responded back with a tech fall against Utah Tech 17-2. Clark would then fall in his second consolation match in a high scoring 12-14 battle. In the 7^th place bout, Clark ended the day with another tech fall to secure his trip to the national tournament.

Michael Ramos (149 – 7^th) – Ramos would start the day showcasing his quick offense with a pin in the first period in his first match. Ramos would fall in the quarters then receive a bye to get into the third round of consolations. Ramos would drop the next bout but responded back with a pin in the 7^th place bout to earn a trip to Louisiana.

Jesus Loreto (157 – 3^rd) – Loreto was able to claim third place in the 157-pound bracket. After dropping his first match, the freshman went on to win his four next matches with three of them being by tech fall to win the consolation bracket.

JT Nishikawa (165 – 2^nd) – Nishikawa was able to take silver with 23 team points. The sophomore started the day off with a tech fall against his opponent from Ottawa and then a pin against Vanguard in the first period against Vanguard. JT put up 17 points to earn another tech fall in his semifinal's bout, but was taken out in the first period in the finals and claimed second place to end the day.

Nikita Smatov (174 – 2^nd) – Another Oak that had a solid all-around performance was another freshman in Nikita Smatov. Smatov earned a 17-0 tech fall in the quarterfinals, then went on to earn an 18-6 major decision over Utah Tech to place himself in the finals. Smatov would unfortunately fall in the finals, earning second place for the day.

Torin Lipska (184 – 7^th) – Already placed in the quarterfinal, Lipska unfortunately dropped his first two bouts of the day. In his 7^th place bout, Torin picked up a fall in 2:20 to earn his ticket to the national tournament.

Matthew Porras Diamond (197 – 3^rd) – Diamond started the day off in the quarterfinals with a pin over his opponent from Vanguard in the second period. After falling short in the semifinals, the sophomore responded back with another pin to get into the third-place bout. Facing the same opponent from the first match of the day, Diamond was able to earn a clutch last second take down 5-3 to win the consolation bracket.

Andrew Mannion (285 – 1^st) – Andrew Mannion was the lone Oak that captured a title on the day, earning 3 wins. Mannion started the day with a pin to continue onto the semifinals. The senior then was able to earn a 9-4 decision victory in the semis, then a 9-5 victory in the finals with both opponents coming from Utah Tech.

In his first season at the helm, Head Coach Cristian Vasquez has the team in form for the national tournament, aiming to obtain the team title at the national tournament.

Up Next…
With all ten wrestlers of qualified for the national tournament, the Oaks will head to Bossier City, Louisiana for the NCWA National Championship from March 14^th-16^th to end the season.