CORVALLIS, Ore. – Performances by
Triston Wills and
Paul Bianchi topped off the Little Rock wrestling team's second-ever Pac-12 Championships with podium finishes, with the former earning third place at 174 pounds and the latter taking home fourth at 133 pounds. The Trojans finished sixth overall with 69 team points, an increase of six and a half points from last year's total.
RESULTS | PHOTO GALLERY
"The Pac-12 Championships is a tough tournament," said head coach
Neil Erisman. "I was proud of how several of the guys battled today, especially Triston. Even though he fell short, we were proud that he put in himself in a position to earn a spot at nationals."
Wills made a big move in the third period of his first-round match to claim an 8-5 decision. Down 4-2, the redshirt freshman went behind the Oregon State wrestler and tilted his opponent for a four-point near fall to pull ahead, becoming the only Trojan to advance to the semifinals.
Wills fell to the number one seed in the semifinals, but advanced to the third-place match to face CSUB's starter. Again, grit in the last period propelled the Derby, Kansas native forward: he had responded to every point that his opponent put on the board, going into the third period 6-6 despite riding time favoring the Roadrunners. With less than a minute left, Wills moved ahead with the takedown then added back points with seconds to go to win the 10-7 decision.
The redshirt freshman challenged the second-place finisher from Arizona State in an allocation match following the tournament, but couldn't overtake the Sun Devil to steal the automatic qualification, letting go a 14-2 major decision.
Bianchi dropped his opening match to CSUB's Chance Rich, who would go on to upset the number one seed. The redshirt senior stayed alive in the consolation semifinals with a 7-1 decision after coming out of the gates strong and adding a point for riding time after commanding the match. In his third-place match, Bianchi fell behind early and was unable to come back from a six-point deficit after the first two periods despite a late push that included a clean reversal.
Conner Ward,
Gabe Beyer,
Joseph Bianchi and
Alex Hernandez all claimed fifth place finishes.
Redshirt sophomore Ward and redshirt freshman Beyer both collected pins in their respective fifth-place matches. For Ward, it was a revenge match, as the Arizona State wrestler had won by fall in the first round of the 141-pound bracket. With thirty seconds left in the first period, Ward pushed his opponent to the edge of the mat and earned the pin by cradle.
In his fifth place match at heavyweight, Beyer drove the Oregon State foe to the ground just seconds into period two, holding him down to win by fall as well.
The younger Bianchi, wrestling up a weight class from his usual position at 149 all season, came out swinging in his last match of the day. The redshirt freshman made use of his single leg shots to give him a sizable lead in the first five minutes, then held on for the 6-4 decision.
Hernandez wrapped up his true freshman season with a 7-3 decision at 165 pounds, circling to behind for the first takedown of the match. He had a big second period, pulling ahead with a late reversal in the second period and riding it out to finish it.
The season may not be over for #LittleRocksTeam, however. Due to his ranking in the NCAA Coaches Poll, Bianchi may still have a chance as a wild card qualifier for the NCAA Championships, which will take place in St. Louis from March 18-20. The selection show will take place on Wednesday, March 10.
"We believe Paul has a shot at going to NCAAs," added Coach Erisman. "It's time to get back to Little Rock and get prepared for nationals."
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