Two titles for the Schlatter family at the 2003 Freestyle Western Junior Regional
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John Fuller (USA Wrestling)
05/07/2003
Las Vegas, Nev. - C.P. Schlatter (Urbana, Ohio) went 6-0 on Wednesday with two pins and four technical falls on his way to being named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the 2003 Greco-Roman Western Junior Regional. Schlatter defeated Scott Loescher (Portland, Ore.) by a 10-0 score at the 152-pound final for the gold medal. Loescher was a defending regional champion. Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.) may have been even more dominant than C.P. Schlatter, winning the 112-pound gold medal after recording his fifth pin of the tournament in the finals over Mike Rodriguez (Kennewick, Wash.). Pataky, the only defending regional champion to repeat as champion, won the Gorrarian Award for the most falls in the least amount of time with five pins in seven minutes and 37 seconds. Schlatter's younger brother, Dustin, also captured a gold medal, winning the 140-pound title with a 13-0 drubbing of Nick Cautrell (Eugene, Ore.). Schlatter outscored his opponents 54-0 while also recording one pin on his way to the gold medal. Cadet national champions Rocky Cozart (Brandon, Fla.) and Nick Gallick (Tucson, Ariz.) won their first major titles at the Junior levels on Wednesday. Cozart scraped by Chas Betts (St. Michael, Minn.) by a 7-4 score at 160 lbs. Gallick defeated Seth Flodeen (Cannon Falls, Minn.) 13-3 at 105 lbs. Gallick outscored his opponents 68-3 in six matches. Cyler Sanderson (Heber City, Utah), younger brother of U.S. World Team member Cael Sanderson, showed a high-powered offense on his way to winning the 130-pound title. Sanderson and Jason Robbins (Oviedo, Fla.) traded takedowns and gut wrenches in the first period as the two wrestlers were tied at 11-11. Sanderson then took control, scoring two takedowns and exposure points on a series of gut wrenches and lifts for a 21-11 technical fall victory. Sanderson also scored 20 points in his final pool match. 2002 regional runner-up Colton Salazar (Midway, Utah) was not denied a title this year, winning the gold medal at 145 lbs. after defeating Randy Callicoat (Orem, Utah) 11-0. The technical fall was the fifth of the tournament for Salazar. Junior National All-American J.D. Bergman (Oak Harbor, Ohio) recorded his third fall of the tournament with a second-period pin against Philip Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) at 189 lbs. Bergman also outscored his opponents 44-0 in his other four matches. Jon May (Hutchinson, Minn.), a 2002 regional runner-up, won a 13-3 technical fall over Dallin Norton (Midway, Utah) at 275 lbs. Also winning titles were Seth Metzler (Newton, Kan.) at 98 lbs., Junior National All-American Tanner Gardner (Berryton, Kan.) at 119 lbs., Eddie Garza (Tucson, Ariz.) at 125 lbs., Jeremiah Davis (El Cajon, Calif.) at 135 lbs., Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa.) at 171 lbs. and Travis Garder (Portland, Ore.) at 215 lbs. The top three wrestlers at each weight class qualify for their state's ASICS Junior National Team. Junior freestyle competition will begin on Thursday with preliminary action starting at 11:00 p.m. and concluding with the medal matches and finals at 4:00 p.m. on Friday.