Grand Canyon University Athletics
Wrestlers lay it on mat at RMAC
2/25/2009 10:51:56 AM | Wrestling
No more gamesmanship to be played. Actually, with wrestling that may never be true. Point is, this is the time when boys become hombres.
Only the strong survive.
Grand Canyon University's wrestlers will compete at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships/West Regional Saturday in Kearney, Neb. At stake is a trip to the NCAA Division II National Championships in Houston, March 13-14. RMAC finals can be seen live on B2 Networks Internet broadcast by visiting www.b2cabletv.com/channels.asp?networksid=21&channelsid=104. Fans attending the the RMAC championships in Nebraska can purchase tickets via www.pickmytickets.com.
The RMAC is the oldest NCAA Division II conference, and the fourth oldest league among all NCAA Divisions. It is preparing to celebrate its 100th birthday on March 6.
GCU has been an associate member for only two years. Last year, the Antelopes sent one wrestler on from the West Regional to the NCAA Championships. This year, they have more numbers to work with.
"They better have a sense of urgency or they're going to be done for the year," GCU coach R.C. LaHaye said.
Over the past few weeks, LaHaye has preached the importance of winning during the regular season to gain seeding for the RMAC championships. All of that jockeying is over with now. It comes down to performing. And unlike the last 17 weeks of the season, where a priority is put on chalking one up for the team, the focus now shifts to an individual level.
Wrestlers now make a name for themselves in a weight-by-weight category. Grand Canyon's Ryan Becerra is the school's top-seeded wrestler in the RMAC. At 184 pounds, he is 20-5, and owns the conference's second-best win percentage at .800 behind Western State College's Charlie Pipher's 1.000. Pipher has only wrestled in seven matches. Fort Hays State's Tyler Gonzales (19-10) is the RMAC's only nationally-ranked wrestler at 184. Becerra has won 12 of his last 13 bouts.
At 174, Daniel Garay (18-17) is the only other GCU athlete with a plus-.500 winning percentage. Four RMAC wrestlers in his weight class are nationally ranked. Garay, who has proven he can rattle off a string of wins, going 5-0 during a stretch in which he moved over the .500 mark, has wrestled one of those opponents. Garay (pictured) also beat the No. 8-ranked NAIA 174-pounder when he decisioned Embry Riddle's Eli Arismendez, 3-1, in January.
Alex Contreras has won three of his last four matches, recording his first pin of the year. He is 12-15 at 133, a weight class that affords GCU room to qualify for nationals. Jack Porter, 16-17 at 165, and Bryan Scambler, 11-22 with four pins at 149, are also viable threats to qualify for nationals.
"Porter needs to win the close matches," LaHaye said. "That's something he has not been able to do. But he'll need to do that in order to qualify for nationals."
Actually, Porter has won five of the 11 matches that have been decided by two points or less. He is 3-4 in bouts decided by one point.
"Alex has been wrestling really hard the last couple weeks," LaHaye said. "He's become a smarter wrestler. Scamby has potential. All those guys have a chance."
Yet while the spotlight will be on an individual basis, Grand Canyon can appreciate its strength in numbers this year.
"It's so much better this year," LaHaye said. "Knowing you have your teammates behind you gives you even more motivation to wrestle hard for seven minutes."
