2009 Fullerton Open Recap

FULLERTON, Calif. -- Midway through the second period of the 125-pound final of the Fullerton Open, Titan wrestler Andre Gonzalez used supreme balance to fight off a leg attack by highly touted freshman Ryan Mango of Stanford, who was wrestling unattached. Seconds later Gonzalez launched his own counter-offense to secure a takedown of his own and tie the match, 3-3. Mango released Gonzalez to start the third period, giving Gonzalez a 4-3 lead. While others may have tried to hold on for the win, Gonzalez continued to attack and wound up getting another takedown with less than thirty seconds left in the match. That cemented the victory.

Andre Gonzalez of Cal State Fullerton defeated Ryan Mango of Stanford (Photo/Bob Mayeri)

"Our coach teaches us that it doesn't matter if you get taken down," Gonzalez said. "As long as you keep working."

Gozalez's victory was not one of improvisation as the wrestler had scouted his opponent earlier in the day

"I saw him wrestle my teammate in the semifinals, Marcus Orona, so I was kind of going off of that. "

The win was one of three champions for the Cal State Fullerton wrestling team -- a program in the national spotlight this weekend as it fights for its survival.

Another final decided only until the third period came at 157 pounds, where Stanford's Lucas Espericueta found himself tied 2-2 with Embry Riddle's Tyler Chang heading into the third period. Chang picked bottom to start the period, but Espericueta made the most of the situation and locked up a tilt near the out of bounds marker during a scramble. He rode Change hard until finally cutting him for an escape with eight seconds left and winning the match 4-3.

Unlike Gonzalez, Espericueta admitted he doesn't do much scouting of opponents at all. "I'm good at assessing the situation in front of me. If I think too much, I get into trouble."

Stanford also had three champions, but while the competition between the schools was fierce and the quality of the wrestling top-notch, the tenor of the event was far different than previous years as people wondered if this would be the last hoorah for the Titan wrestling team.

Dan Hicks

Due to the budget crisis facing California schools, CSFU athletic director Brian Quinn told Titan wrestling head coach Dan Hicks that last spring that the program would not be allowed to continue unless they could raise funds on their own. The same proposition was given to the head coach of the women's gymnastics team -- coached by Jill Hicks, Dan's wife.

The two Hicks coaches have been going on a fundraising rampage ever since to try and save the sports that mean so much to them and the school.

"We're a big commuter school," said Hicks. "Because of that there's not an automatic sense of community here and we get community through our sports teams. It's important."

Recognizing how dire the situation was, the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) awarded Cal State Fullerton the hosting duties of Sunday's NWCA All-Star Classic -- the first time the event has taken place in the state of California. The press that the Titan program will receive from the event will hopefully amplify fund raising to the point where the program has a future.

Excitement was already building during today's action. Throughout the day, planes holding wrestlers from all over the country landed and the invitees for tomorrow's milestone event came to the gymnasium to check out the venue and watch the tournament.

The NWCA All-Star Classic is expected to draw a huge crowd and the finals of the Fullerton Open proved to be an outstanding opening act.

Related Content:
Fullerton Open Final Brackets
Fullerton Open Photo Gallery (Tech-Fall.com)

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2009 Fullerton Open Recap

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