Mora, Sanchez Lead Titans into Pac-10 Tourney
Feb. 24, 2005 -- San Luis Obispo, CA

No. 1 seed Juan Mora at 141 pounds and No. 2 seed Leonel Sanchez at 174 pounds lead Cal State Fullerton into the 2005 Pac-10 Wrestling Championships to be held Sunday and Monday (Feb. 27 & 28) at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo.

Fullerton had its best finish ever last year with a third-place showing that was close enough to the title that the reversal of the outcome of just one match vs. a Boise State (eventual champion) wrestler would have given the championship to the Titans. This year looks to be equally close with no dominant team.

Arizona State, the 2003 champion, is the only nationally ranked team in the conference at No. 19 according to the latest USA Today/NWCA Div. I poll. The Sun Devils have the top seed at 184 pounds in CB Dolloway and at heavyweight in Cain Velasquez. Other teams with multiple No. 1 seeds are Boise State with Scott Jorgensen at 133 and Ben Cherrington at 149 and Oregon with Joey Bracamonte at 165 and Scott Barker at 197.

Other seeded Titans are Landon Seefeldt, No. 4 at 197; defending Pac-10 champion Jesse Miramontes, No. 5 at 125; Morgan Atkinson, No. 5 at 157; and Jesse Taylor, No. 6 at 184. Miramontes was seeded No. 6 last year yet pinned all three of his opponents to become wrestler of the meet. This year he faces a field which features five competitors ranked in the national top 20 -- Cal Poly’s Vic Moreno at No. 5, Boise State’s Andre Hochstrasser at No. 6, Arizona State’s Jeremy Mendoza at No. 9, Cal State Bakersfield’s Efren Ceballos at No. 13 and Miramontes at No. 19.

The top three finishers in each weight category plus selected fourth-place finishers qualify for the NCAA Championships in St. Louis beginning March 17. Last year Fullerton was represented by Mora, Seefeldt, Sanchez and Miramontes. Mora and Seefeldt are two-time qualifiers.

Fullerton had its best dual match winning percentage this season at .763 (14-4-1) and 14 victories tied the school record. The Titans were 5-2-1 in Pac-10 matches. Mora was 26-6 overall and 8-0 in Pac-10 matches, but is not ranked in the national Top 20. Only teammates Seefeldt (No. 9 with a 23-7 record), and Miramontes (No. 19 with a 25-11 record) are ranked. Sanchez (25-6) was ranked No. 19 two weeks ago but fell out of the rankings after a loss to Ron Silva of UC Davis, who is the No. 1 seed in the Pac-10 but also is not nationally ranked.

The highest ranked wrestlers in the Pac-10 Tournament are Stanford’s Matt Gentry, No. 2 at 157, and Oregon’s Scott Barker, No. 4 at 197.

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