Six win double tiles at Western Junior Freestyle Regionals, as Schlatter named Outstanding Wrestler

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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
04/09/2004


Six wrestlers claimed double titles after winning the freestyle tournament at the Western Junior Regionals at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev., April 9.    The double champions this year included Marty Eng of Newburg, Ore. at 98 pounds, Gabriel Burak of Colorado Springs, Colo. at 105.5 pounds, Nick Gallick of Tucson, Ariz. at 119 pounds, Cyler Sanderson of Heber City, Utah at 135 pounds, Matthew Lopez of Tucson, Ariz. at 140 pounds and Dustin Schlatter of Massillon, Ohio at 145 pounds    In the freestyle finals, Eng scored a technical fall over  Zach Hansen of Albert Lea, Minn., 11-0 in 4:20.     Burak made it a double title with a 4-0 decision over  Patrick McCaffrey of Glen Ellyn, Ill.    For Gallick, it was a rematch of the Greco-Roman finals on Wednesday against 2003 Junior National Greco-Roman champion Mike Rodriguez of Kennewick, Wash. In the the freestyle finals, he won 13-6. Their Greco-Roman final was closer, an 8-7 win for Gallick.    Sanderson was dominant in his finals, scoring an 11-0 technical fall over Brandon Sitch of Kelso, Wash., 11-0 in  1:55.    Lopez also scored a technical fall, stopping John Basting of Grand Forks, N.D., 14-3 in 3:35.    Schlatter was named Outstanding Wrestler in the tournament, after a dominant 11-0 technical fall in the gold-medal match over Cory Schmitz of Stewartville, Minn. in 4:22. It was the second straight year that Schlatter was a double champion at the Western Juniors.    One of the most exciting finals came at 112 pounds, in a battle of 2003 national champions. A 2003 Cadet National champion, Henry Cejudo of Phoenix, Ariz. defeated 2003 Junior National champion Tony Mustari of Greeley, Colo., 11-6.    Another Junior National champion to win a freestyle Western title was Matt Fields of Lowden, Iowa, who scored a 10-0 technical fall over  Nicholas Smith of Boise, Idaho, in 2:56. It was the second straight year that Fields captured a Western Junior freestyle title.    A local star  from Las Vegas, Chris Gifford, captured the gold medal at  189 pounds, scoring a 10-0 technical fall over Jake Cranford of Clackamas, Ore., in 3:43.    Other individual champions were Jordan Frischkorn of Chesapeake, Va. at 125 pounds, Mitch Mueller of Iowa City, Iowa at 130 pounds, Ryan Morningstar of Lisbon, Iowa at 152 pounds, Matt Coughlin at Wadesville, Ind. at 160 pounds, David Erwin of Urbana, Ohio at 171 pounds and Michael Bucklin of Colfax, Iowa at 215 pounds.    Frishkorn defeated Elijah Hutchison of Soldotna, Alaska, 4-2. Mueller beat Andrew Hochstrasser, of Tooele, Utah, 12-3.  Morningstar stopped Matt Dragon of Noxen, Pa., 7-2.    Coughlin beat Rocky Cozart of Brandon, Fla., 8-0.  Erwin pinned  Logan Downes of New Kenisington, Pa. in 4:22. Bucklin beat Brett Eidenschink of Detroit Lakes, Minn., 12-6.