The San Francisco State Gators wrestling team is off to a 2-1 start in the 2025-26 DII wrestling season. The Gators, who compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation as the CCAA does not sponsor wrestling, entered the season ranked No. 20 in the NWCA poll and returned star wrestlers Johnny Lopez, who was ranked at the top of the 141-pound weight class, and Kyle Botelho, ranked No. 9 at 165.
It is Lopez, who brought home the individual national championship last season, that somewhat defines this roster. San Francisco State is a program loaded with international talent that has honed its skills not simply on the West Coast, but the world over.
This is no random occurrence. Head coach Jason Welch took over the program ahead of the 2017-18 season and was very intentional with building the roster as it is.
“This is something that I specifically built into our program when I came to San Francisco State as something that we could uniquely focus on,” Welch told NCAA.com. “We have a very diverse group of student athletes, many of whom are first or second generation and eligible to compete for a foreign national team. This also reflects our recruiting pool in California. So, it was a strategic move to make this something that we specialize in.”
San Francisco State's Johnny Lopez celebrates another DII wrestling victory.
Lopez is one of the best of the bunch. He was the NWCA Super Region 6 wrestler of the year, as well as the MPSF wrestler of the year, while bringing home the first individual national championship of Welch’s SF State coaching career. He is competing with the Mexican national team this year and broadening his national championship pedigree.
“I think for Johnny specifically, the opportunity to compete for Mexico is going to give him the chance to push himself,” Welch said. “He has two more years to repeat winning nationals, which will be a feat in itself to accomplish, but my hope for Johnny is that this will allow him the opportunity to really see how good he can be and to continue to push himself to the next level. This will give him a chance to not just focus on repeating something he has already done, but to take his wrestling to the next stage.”
There are others on the roster as well. Freshman Troy Torres is just beginning his DII journey but joined Lopez on the Mexican national team in October. Emilio Franco Sandoval also wrestles for Mexico. He has placed second at the Mexican national tournament during his career and also returned in October for another go.
“He’s a glue guy on our team and keeps people together,” Welch said. “Connectedness is his strong point in our team culture. Emilio has that duality of toughness and kindness that I like to see in the best of our wrestlers; someone who can be a fierce competitor but also be a generous friend to his teammates.”
Then there is budding YouTube star Hayden Ancheta of the Philippines, who has already competed at the Filipino Nationals, Asian Championships and World Championships, and may have been the only DII wrestler at the U20 World Championships, per Welch.
“Hayden brings a ton of energy to the room,” Welch said. “He has a charisma and high energy about him that is special. He started wrestling late, as a freshman in high school, and many of his YouTube subscribers (now north of 24,000) have been following his journey. This has been driven by Hayden’s absolute passion for wrestling, his energy and his commitment to his Olympic dreams as well as his consistent story-creation with his YouTube channel. What I find so genuine and relatable about Hayden’s story is his openness and sincerity about his uphill battle as a relatively late starter in the sport.”
Another wrestler hailing from the Philippines is Andre Dargani. Dargani won at the Filipino Nationals and is set to represent his country at the Southeast Asian Games in December.
Junior Kydyn Lima is another international weapon for Welch, hailing from Brazil. He is coming off a First Team All-MPSF campaign where he picked up a win at the MPSF championships. His father, Ivaldo, is a former Air Force member who owns a Jiu-jitsu academy in Long Beach and was involved in the MMA scene, so athleticism runs in his blood.
“Kydyn is committed to his wrestling for us as well as his home country of Brazil,” Welch said. “He wants to take his own career to the highest level and then take over the Jiu-jitsu academy one day. He brings tremendous wrestling skills to our team, but also a love for wrestling technique. He is a technique guru. And he is committed teammate, always open to helping the younger guys on the team and staying after practice.”
Kweli Hernandez-Maitre pins an opponent in DII wrestling.
Then there is Kweli Hernandez-Maitre. Hernandez-Maitre has won the Puerto Rico trials before and has two Pan Am medals representing Puerto Rico while attending the world championships for them as well.
“Kweli is our most decorated of the international wrestling crew, with multiple medals at a continental championship,” Welch said. “He is a tough wrestler — another late bloomer who started wrestling as a freshman in high school and shows tremendous growth every year. It’s easy to see how much more growth he is capable of.”
It’s not simply a strong wrestling acumen that brings this international showcase together. It is a blend of personalities that helps San Francisco State continue to grow and find its way among the DII wrestling heavyweights (and lightweights). At the very least, they give Gator fans plenty to be excited about as they contend for another trip to the NCAA DII championships while putting on a world showcase. It was always more than a strategic philosophy for Welch, more than simply a way to entice wrestlers to The Golden State. For Welch, this roster of international personalities isn’t simply put together for him to produce winning programs. There is a valuable lesson or two his wrestling team learns from being a Gator.
“The two biggest things it gives our student athletes is that it opens up their worldview to something much larger and increases their opportunities to train and compete with those national teams,” Welch said. “It’s not just about the opportunity to compete at world championships; it also gives them a route to re-connect with their country of origin, dig into their own cultural roots, and explore the world. My hope is that my guys have the opportunity to broaden their worldview all the while progressing in their wrestling skills.”
