OMAHA, Neb. – San Francisco State’s Steve Franklin (Middletown, Calif., Santa Rosa JC) has assured himself of All-America status on Friday after completing the first day of competition at the 2010 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships at Sapp Fieldhouse in Omaha, Neb.
In the heavyweight class, Franklin rebounded from a 7-2 loss to second-ranked Elijah Madison of host school Nebraska-Omaha in the main draw quarterfinals with a 9-2 decision over Colorado State-Pueblo’s Patrick Carey in the second round of the consolation bracket. With his victory, the Gator senior raised his record to 30-10 on the season and guaranteed himself of no worse than an eighth-place finish. Franklin, who can still place as high as third, will face Christopher Dempsey of Pittsburgh-Johnstown in the consolation quarterfinals on Saturday.
Franklin’s performance also gives Gator head coach Lars Jensen 56 All-Americans in his 27-year tenure.
The remaining four SF State national qualifiers were unable to advance, however, as each was eliminated in the consolation bracket.
At 133, Naveed Bagheri (Los Gatos, Calif., West Valley College) dropped a pair of matches after posting a victory by major decision in his opening bout. The Gator sophomore suffered a defeat by fall in the third period against No. 4 Corey Bowers of Gannon University in the main draw quarterfinals, followed by a 5-1 setback at the hands of Limestone College’s Michael Magaha in the second round of wrestleback competition. Bagheri, who is the two-time defending Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champion in his weight class, finished the season with a 24-4 record.
Josh Nolan (Quincy, Calif., Quincy HS) (12-11), who qualified for the NCAA meet for the second time in his career, saw his season come to an end on Friday after experiencing a 17-4 defeat by major decision to West Liberty State’s Mitch Smith in the consolation first round at 149 pounds.
Zach Jimenez (Chualar, Calif., Palma HS) (14-21) witnessed an identical feat at 184, dropping a 10-2 major decision to Craig Draper-Johnson of Southwest Minnesota State in his consolation opener.
Vince Bordi (Manteca, Calif., Manteca HS) (21-14), meanwhile, saw his SF State career come to a disappointing end after dropping a tough 3-2 decision to the University of Findlay’s Daniel Stevenson in the wrestlebacks as well.
As a team, the Gators sit in 23rd place with 6.5 points, while Nebraska-Omaha maintains its comfortable perch atop the standings with 57 points, followed by St. Cloud State (32.5 pts.) and Augustana-SD (29.5 pts.).
The NCAA Division II Championships continue on Saturday with session three action beginning at 11 a.m. CT (9 a.m. PT).
NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships
Omaha, Neb.
Sessions 1 & 2
SF State Results
133 – #3 Naveed Bagheri
Main Draw: Won by major decision over Jan Steven Ulinski (Findlay), 14-1
Lost by fall to #4 Corey Bowers (Gannon); 5:33
Consolation: Lost by decision to Michael Magaha (Limestone), 5-1
149 – Josh Nolan
Main Draw: Lost by decision to Derek Bomsted (Minnesota St.-Moorhead), 6-3
Consolation: Lost by major decision to #2 Mitch Smith (West Liberty State), 17-4
184 – Zach Jimenez
Main Draw: Lost by fall to #8 Austin Boehm (Nebraska-Omaha), 0:30
Consolation: Lost by major decision to Craig Draper-Johnson (SW Minn.), 10-2
197 – #7 Vince Bordi
Main Draw: Lost by decision to Mitch Knapp (West Liberty State), 7-0
Consolation: Lost by decision to Daniel Stevenson (Findlay), 3-2
285 – Steve Franklin
Main Draw: Won by decision over Tim Johnson (Minnesota St.-Moorhead), 9-4
Lost by decision to #2 Elijah Madison (Nebraska-Omaha), 7-2
Consolation: Won by decision over Patrick Carey (Colorado St.-Pueblo), 9-2
Session Two Brackets