Schlatter, Pitsch, Bergman and Patrick repeat as champions of the 2003 Freestyle Western Junior Regi

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John Fuller (USA Wrestling)
05/09/2003


Las Vegas, Nev. - Four wrestlers repeated as champions on Friday afternoon at the 2003 Freestyle Western Junior Regional.    C.P. Schlatter (Urbana, Ohio) outscored his opponents 72-1 and recorded two pins as he repeated as a champion at 152 lbs.    Schlatter downed Zack Elliott (Bear River, Utah) 10-0 in under a minute to capture the gold medal.    At 160 lbs., Patrick Pitsch (Tacoma, Wash.) won six matches by technical superiority as he repeated as a regional champion. Pitsch survived a scare from Greco-Roman regional champion Rocky Cozart (Brandon, Fla.) in pool competition. Pitsch held on for a 9-8 win in what turned out to be his toughest match of the tournament.    Junior National All-American J.D. Bergman (Oak Harbor, Ohio) repeated as a regional champion by coasting through the 189-pound competition. Bergman defeated Patrick Bond (Great Bridge, Va.) 9-5 in the gold medal bout.    Andy Patrick (Meridian, Ohio) was also a repeat champion, winning the 215-pound title with a convincing 10-0 technical superiority victory over Josh Robinson (Mont.).    Tanner Gardner (Berryton, Kan.) was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler after recording his fifth technical superiority win in the 119-pound finals. Gardner, who also had three wins by fall in the tournament, defeated Jake Gonzales (Enumclaw, Wash.) 12-1 in the finals.    T.J. Sebolt (Centerville, Iowa) dominated his pool competition, including defending champion Nick Gallick (Tucson, Ariz.), in winning the 105-pound title. Sebolt defeated Gallick 5-2 in round-robin competition to advance to the gold medal match, where he then beat Seth Flodeen (Cannon Falls, Minn.) by fall.    Defending champion Arturo Basulto (Arroyo Grande, Calif.) was the only defending champion to lose in the finals, dropping a match to Matt Fields (Stanwood, Iowa) at 275 lbs. Fields pinned Basulto late in the first period.    Schlatter's younger brother, Dustin, was just as dominant as his older brother, outscoring his seven opponents 77-3 on his way to winning the 140-pound regional crown.    Dustin Schlatter defeated Carter Downing (Evanston, Wyo.) by technical superiority.    At 125 lbs., Coleman Scott (Waynesburg, Pa.) won six matches by technical superiority en route to the gold medal. Scott's only scare of the tournament came in pool competition, where he narrowly avoided a loss to Cesar Grajales (Brandon, Fla.) in a 10-7 win.    Junior National All-American Craig Henning (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) defeated Colton Salazar (Midway, Utah) 10-5 for the 145-pound title. Henning scored three times on gut wrenches in the victory.    Also winning titles were Matt Rosen (Great Bridge, Va.) at 98 lbs., Mike Rodriguez (Kennewick, Wash.) at 112 lbs., Mark Bradley (Portland, Ore.) at 130 lbs., Tyler Sherfey (Kennewick, Wash.) at 135 lbs. and Josh Weitzel (Oxford, Pa.) at 171 lbs.    Gardner, Dustin Schlatter, C.P. Schlatter and Bergman also won gold medals in the Greco-Roman division.    The top three wrestlers at each weight class qualify for their state's ASICS Junior National Team. The ASICS/Vaughan Junior National Championships will take place July 19-26 in Fargo, N.D.