LITTLE ROCK – After the Trojans went West last weekend, now Little Rock wrestling is due for a East Coast swing. The team is headed to the state of North Carolina for a tri-dual at App State against the host team and VMI this Friday before taking on #22 UNC for a Sunday match.
The Trojans will wrestle the Virginia Military Institute first tomorrow at 3 p.m. CT before going head-to-head with Appalachian State at 6:30 p.m. CT. Little Rock will wrap up the weekend with a dual against the ranked North Carolina Tarheels at 2 p.m. CT on Sunday, Jan. 23.
Fans will be able to watch Little Rock compete Friday through Rokfin, while Sunday's dual will be streamed on ACC Network Extra. As always, fans can stay up to date with the team's official Twitter account
@LittleRockWRES for live results.
WATCH Little Rock vs VMI |
WATCH Little Rock at App State |
WATCH Little Rock at UNC
Last Time Out
Last weekend, the Trojans had a tough road swing at Pac-12 rivals Oregon State and Stanford, dropping both duals despite finishing within four points of the latter. Little Rock drops to 0-5 on the year, however, of those five team losses, four were against teams that are ranked or receiving votes.
One particular set of performances that stood out across both days was heavyweight
Josiah Hill. The redshirt freshman had a strong weekend for Little Rock, battling the #10 ranked heavyweight from Oregon State to triple overtime in a gritty loss before pinning his Stanford opponent less than 24 hours later. He has moved to 10-6 on the season and will be looking to pick up another trio of wins this weekend.
Tri-Dual Trials
The Little Rock versus VMI match will kick off the Trojans' weekend, in a first-time meetup between the teams. The Virginia Military Institute did however compete at the Southern Scuffle earlier this month, finishing behind Little Rock in the final team standings.
Joseph Bianchi was the only Trojan to go up against a VMI wrestler, defeating their starter with a 12-4 decision.
The second match of the day against the host team may be more of a challenge, as App State is currently receiving votes in the
NWCA Coaches Poll and boasts six ranked wrestlers
via Intermat. The Mountaineers came to Little Rock during the Trojans' inaugural season, winning 36-6 and taking nine bouts, with the exception of
Tyler Brennan's pin, notably the first ranked win in program history.
Notes on North Carolina
Currently sitting as the #22 team in the nation
via the NWCA Coaches Poll, UNC welcomes former Tarheel assistant coach
Neil Erisman back to Chapel Hill, but this time with the Trojan head coach sitting on the opposite bench. North Carolina has a solid lineup, including seven ranked wrestlers of their own, as well as the 2021 National champion at 157 pounds.
This also will be the second matchup between the teams, the first coming in Little Rock's first season as well, where current Trojan starter
Jayden Carson picked up a 10-4 decision along with graduate assistant coach
Paul Bianchi's additional win by decision before UNC came away with the 35-6 team victory.
View all probable starters below:
Little Rock Probables
125:
Jayden Carson, R-So. (8-8) -or-
Josh Sarpy, R-Fr. (4-3)
133:
Jaylen Carson, R-So. (9-7) -or-
Aidan Campbell, R-So. (3-3)
141:
Conner Ward, R-Jr. (2-9)
149:
Joseph Bianchi, R-So. (11-5)
157:
Austin Keal, R-Fr. (4-4)
165:
Tyler Brennan, R-So. (8-8)
174:
Triston Wills, R-So. (8-6) -or-
Will Edgar, R-So. (1-3)
184:
Brayden Dillow, Fr. (4-1)
197:
Brooks Sacharczyk, R-Fr. (5-10) -or-
Zeke Beach, R-Fr. (0-0)
285:
Josiah Hill, R-Fr. (10-6)
VMI Probables
125: Cameron Chicella, Jr. (0-5)
133: Patrick Maglathlin, Fr. (0-0)
141: Freddy Junko, Jr. (5-11)
149: Luke Hart, Fr. (4-10)
157: Seth Fillers, Jr. (0-3)
165: Blake Showers, So. (3-2) -or- River Carroll, Fr. (0-6)
174: Jon Hoover, Jr. (4-11)
184: Zach Brown, Jr. (9-7)
197: Isaac Dolph, So. (3-9)
285: Josh Evans, So. (3-8)
App State Probables
125: #26 Caleb Smith (14-4)
133: #27 Codi Russell (12-6)
141: Heath Gonyer (14-7)
149: #5 Jonathan Millner (9-1)
157: #32 Cody Bond (10-7)
165: #20 Will Formato (13-4)
174: #31 Thomas Flitz (7-5)
184: Barrett Blakely (8-6)
197: Wyatt Miller (6-7)
285: Michael Burchell (7-6)
North Carolina Probables
125: Spencer Moore (9-10)
133: #10 Jaime Hernandez (5-0) -or- Josh Heilmann (9-3)
141: #7 Kizhan Clarke (12-0)
149: #20 Zach Sherman (2-5)
157: #6 Austin O'Connor (7-1)
165: Sonny Santiago (6-7) or Michael Goldfeder (1-2)
174: #16 Clay Lautt (4-3)
184: #24 Gavin Kane (7-2)
197: #27 Max Shaw (7-3)
HWT: Brandon Whitman (6-7)
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
