LITTLE ROCK – The Trojans hit the road this weekend for some West Coast action, traveling to Oregon State on Friday and Stanford on Saturday. Little Rock will have a quick turnaround between duals, wrestling the Beavers in Corvallis at 9 p.m. CT tomorrow evening before heading south to Stanford for a 7 p.m. CT match the next day.
Fans will be able to watch the Trojans on the Pac-12 network, follow results on TrackWrestling, and stay up to date with the team's official Twitter account
@LittleRockWRES.
WATCH Little Rock at Oregon State |
WATCH Little Rock at Stanford
Last Time Out
Last weekend, the Trojans hosted #4 Oklahoma State at home,
setting a new attendance record and picking up two bout wins for their best showing against the Cowboys yet. In addition,
Joseph Bianchi's 5-0 decision at 149 pounds led to
Little Rock's first-ever conference wrestler of the week award. Between their tough schedule and continuous improvement, the team is ready to take on Oregon State and Stanford, both Pac-12 rivals as well as teams that are receiving votes
in the NWCA Coaches Poll.
The Trojans now have three tournaments and three duals under their belt as they prepare for their delayed conference slate. Little Rock was set to dual CSU-Bakersfield at home last month, the Pac-12 team that the Trojans defeated on the road last year for their first conference dual win in program history, but the match was canceled due to health and safety protocols.
Oregon State Outlook
Tomorrow will also be Oregon State's conference opener, as well as their first home dual since the beginning of November. The Beavers are 2-2 overall, with wins against Campbell at home (23-12) and Utah Valley on the road (31-6) two weeks ago, which was their last time hitting the mats.
Last season, Oregon State and Little Rock met in Stillwater, where the Trojans picked up two wins, including a decision from
Triston Wills at 174 pounds, before dropping the match 33-9. The Beavers return probables at 125, 133, 141, and 157, while their former starters at 165 and 184 have been bumped up a weight class. Oregon State has also brought in three transfers to boost their lineup, two from Arizona State (Crooks and Munoz) and one from Ohio State (Traub). All of their starters are ranked, with the exception of 165 and 197.
Scouting Stanford
Stanford, having saved their program following the athlete-led campaign and subsequent NCAA title at 165 pounds by Shane Griffith last year in a major win for the wrestling community, will also face the Trojans as the first Pac-12 opponent on their schedule. So far, the Cardinal (1-2 overall) have turned in losses to Oklahoma State (7-29) and Cornell (9-30) before picking up a 25-13 win against Binghampton in late November. Stanford also was at the Southern Scuffle to kick off 2022, finishing 11th as a team.
Little Rock last faced the Cardinal head-to-head at home, falling 9-27 while picking up three decisions, including one from
Triston Wills at 174 pounds and one from
Tanner Mendoza at 184. Despite a change in head coach - former Cornell leader Rob Koll now is at the helm - the starters have not changed much in comparison to last year, with the exception at 184 and 285. However, be on the lookout for swaps in the Stanford probables due to health and safety protocols.
View all probable starters below:
Little Rock Probables
125:
Jayden Carson, R-So. (7-7)
133:
Jaylen Carson, R-So. (9-5)
141:
Conner Ward, R-Jr. (2-7)
149:
Joseph Bianchi, R-So. (10-4)
157:
Chase Tebbets, Jr. (6-4) -or-
Austin Keal, R-Fr. (4-4)
165:
Tyler Brennan, R-So. (7-7)
174:
Triston Wills, R-So. (8-4)
184:
Tanner Mendoza, So. (6-5)
197:
Brooks Sacharczyk, R-Fr. (5-8) -or-
Zeke Beach, R-Fr. (0-0)
285:
Josiah Hill, R-Fr. (9-5)
Oregon State Probables
125: #16 Brandon Kaylor, R-So. (12-2)
133: #12 Devan Turner, R-Sr. (13-4)
141: #14 Grant Willits, R-Jr. (15-4)
149: #28 Cory Crooks, Gr. (7-5)
157: #17 Hunter Willits, R-Jr. (6-4)
165: Matthew Olguin, R-Fr. (7-8)
174: #27 Mateo Olmos, R-Jr. (9-6)
184: #15 Trey Munoz, R-Fr. (10-2) or Jackson McKinney, R-So. (9-5)
197: Ryan Reyes, So. (6-4) or J.J. Dixon, R-So. (5-10)
285: #10 Gary Traub, Sr. (13-4)
Stanford Probables
125: Logan Ashton, R-So. (5-4)
133: #29 Jackson DiSario, Jr. (14-5)
141: #6 Real Woods, R-Jr. (8-0)
149: #13 Jaden Abas, R-So. (13-4)
157: Charlie Darracott, So. (12-8)
165: #4 Shane Griffith, R-Jr. (9-2)
174: #29 Tyler Eischens, R-Jr. (12-8)
184: Nick Addison, Jr. (1-1)
197: Nick Stemmet, So. (14-8)
285: Peter Ming, So. (10-7)
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
