LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock wrestling is headed north to the Badger state, taking on #23 Wisconsin in their first dual of the season on Friday, Nov. 12 at 7:00 p.m. The match will be held in LaCrosse, Wisconsin as the DI highlight of UW-LaCrosse's DI-DII-DIII event.
Watch the Trojans live here on Boxcast, follow along on TrackWrestling, and check out results posted on Twitter
@LittleRockWRES.
"We had a great past weekend at home," said head coach
Neil Erisman. "I was really happy with the start of our season and we are moving in the right direction. Our guys are looking bigger, stronger, and on the attack. I loved watching it. Anytime you are scoring a lot of bonus points as a team, that's a great sign."
"The good thing is a few of these guys have been through the ringer and we are no stranger to tough competition," Coach Erisman added. "That's what we are going to get tomorrow: a bunch of tough dudes who are going to wrestle hard. The good thing is we are too, so I'm really excited to see us compete. It will be a good test right out the gate."
Last Time Out
The Little Rock wrestling team is just coming off of
their opening weekend and first-ever home tournament last Saturday, where the Trojans had a strong showing against seven other teams. Little Rock came away with 25 pins throughout the day, plus seven champions from the 133 bracket all the way up to the 184 weight class. The chance to wrestle a tournament at home first should give the Trojans a boost of confidence as the team gets set for their first dual of the season.
Third Time's a Charm
This season marks year three for the young Trojan team, but while most of the wrestlers are still underclassmen, the team's depth is greater than ever thanks to a handful of starters with experience under their belt as well as a ranked freshman class. In fact, for the first time, Little Rock will not start a true freshman tomorrow. The team's probables are listed below.
Last season, Little Rock wrestled ranked teams five separate occasions in arguably one of the toughest schedules in the nation, with over half the lineup for tomorrow returning with that firsthand experience and grit. While National qualifier
Paul Bianchi has transitioned into a coaching role as a graduate student, expect several new stars to appear in the next stage of Little Rock's development.
A Glance at #23 Wisconsin
The Badgers check in at #23 in in this week's
NWCA Coaches Poll after defeating Buffalo at home 30-3 last week. All bout wins were decisions, with the exception of major decisions at 165, 174, and 184. Their sole loss was an 8-4 decision at 133 pounds.
Wisconsin features seven ranked wrestlers via Intermat in their probable lineup. It will be a welcomed challenge for Little Rock, since as mentioned, the team is no stranger to ranked opponents. Chris Bono is 22-18 in his fourth year at the helm of Wisconsin, accumulating a record of 125-76 in his 13 years as a head coach.
Little Rock Probables
125:
Jayden Carson, R-So. (2-1) or
Josh Sarpy, R-Fr. (3-1)
133:
Jaylen Carson, R-So. (4-0)
141:
Conner Ward, R-Jr. (0-0)
149:
Joseph Bianchi, R-So. (4-0)
157:
Chase Tebbets, Jr. (4-0)
165:
Tyler Brennan, R-So. (3-0)
174:
Triston Wills, R-So. (3-0)
184:
Tanner Mendoza, So. (4-0)
197:
Brooks Sacharczyk, R-Fr. (2-2)
285:
Josiah Hill, R-Fr. (3-0)
#23 Wisconsin Probables
125: #10 Eric Barnett, Jr.
133: Ethan Rotondo, R-Sr. or Kyle Burwick, R-So.
141: Joseph Zargo, Fr.
149: #18 Austin Gomez, R-Jr.
157: Garrett Model, R-Sr.
165: #25 Dean Hamiti, Fr.
174: #9 Andrew McNally, R-Sr.
184: #18 Chris Weiler, R-Sr.
197: #17 Braxton Amos, Fr.
285: #6 Trent Hillger, R-Sr.
For the latest information on Little Rock Wrestling, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockWRES on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
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