LITTLE ROCK – It's tournament time once again for the Little Rock wrestling team, as the Trojans head north to the Cougar Clash invitational, hosted by SIUE. The full day of action will begin at 10 a.m., with double-elimination brackets running throughout the afternoon until final rounds at 4 p.m.
Fans can follow the Trojans
live online via Rokfin, through results on TrackWrestling, and by checking out posts on Twitter
@LittleRockWRES.
Last Time Out
Little Rock hosted Drexel in their home opener last weekend,
collecting four wins despite a tight 25-18 loss. The Trojans led 12-4 after four matches before falls at 174 and 184 sealed a Dragon victory, but a pin at heavyweight ended the dual on a high note. While the final result was not what Little Rock wanted, the improvement from dual to dual was very visible.
Strong Season Set-Ups
While only a month into the season, a handful of Trojans have set themselves up well for a successful year early on.
Jaylen Carson, in his first year as the starter at 133 following graduate student
Paul Bianchi's stellar season, has wrestled his way to a 6-0 record to fill Bianchi's shoes and continue the team's success in that position. Meanwhile,
Joseph Bianchi,
Triston Wills, and
Josiah Hill each have only one blemish on their winning records, splitting duals.
Competition at the Cougar Clash
Aside from hosts SIUE, other teams in attendance at this weekend's tournament include DI teams Bellarmine, Brown, Northern Illinois, and Wisconsin. It will be a good chance for rematches with the ranked Wisconsin team less than a month out of their dual with the Trojans, as well as matches with past dual competitors Northern Illinois and SIUE.
Via Intermat, there is the potential for 12 ranked wrestlers to make an appearance at the tournament: one at every weight class except 133, and two at 165, 174, and 184. All ranked wrestlers are from Northern Illinois, SIUE, or Wisconsin.
Little Rock Wrestlers
125:
Jayden Carson, R-So. (3-2)
133:
Jaylen Carson, R-So. (6-0) and
Aidan Campbell, R-So. (3-1)
141:
Conner Ward, R-Jr. (1-1)
149:
Joseph Bianchi, R-So. (5-1)
157:
Chase Tebbets, Jr. (4-2)
165:
Tyler Brennan, R-So. (3-2)
174:
Triston Wills, R-So. (4-1)
184:
Tanner Mendoza, So. (4-2)
197:
Brooks Sacharczyk, R-Fr. (2-4)
285:
Josiah Hill, R-Fr. (4-1)
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.
#LittleRocksTeam
