LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Triston Wills collected his third ranked win of the season in a revenge match while
Jaylen Carson bounced back for a win by decision in the second match of the day as the Little Rock wrestling dropped two tough back-to-back duals at home against Cal Poly and Northern Illinois. The Pac-12 Mustangs swept the Trojans 40-0, while the Huskies bested Little Rock 35-6, as the Trojans were hurt by forfeits at 157 and 285.
Wills faced #23 Mason Kauffman from Northern Illinois for the second time this season, this time getting his revenge with a 4-1 decision. Last time the pair met at the Cougar Clash, Kauffman won with a last-second takedown for a 3-2 decision. Today, Wills flipped the table: tied up 1-1, the Derby, Kansas native earned a big takedown with 18 seconds left in the third and final period to pull ahead, locking up the win with a point for riding time thanks to a tough ride in the second period.
"It'd be easy for him to drop his head against these tough guys, and he's not," said head coach
Neil Erisman, noting that about half of the 174 pounder's matches this year have been against ranked opponents. "I've told Triston since day one the thing that I love about him most is that he always moves forward, and not just in the match but also in his training. If it goes bad, he gets back up, gets back after it and gets a bit better. He's just got to continue to embrace that, because you're never going to beat him up and then go do it to him again."
Earlier in the Little Rock vs. Northern Illinois dual, Carson also collected a decision, but his victory was due to staying sharp in the beginning. The redshirt sophomore picked up the first takedown just seconds into the bout, riding hard for most of the period to take a lead he wouldn't relinquish. Carson chose bottom in the second period, getting out fast and shooting again for a successful double-leg. With a point for riding time, he took home win number 11 of the year, also avenging a 3-2 loss from the Cougar Clash in December.
"Jaylen figured it out, came back, and that's important," added Coach Erisman. "He's got to clean up a few things, but I'm happy he's snapped himself back in shape."
Once again, several decisions separated the Trojans from a final score that would have been much tighter. There was a handful of occasions where Little Rock wrestlers went into the third period ahead, only to drop the bout in the last minutes.
"When we start in the circle and move a guy backwards, we have nothing but good things happen. We lost because we stopped moving forward and waited for them to attack us," admitted Coach Erisman. "When we were attacking them, the momentum was shifting our way. We just have to do it for an entire match."
The Trojans have just four duals left in the season over the span of the next two weeks. Little Rock heads to Oklahoma this Friday for an evening dual against the Sooners before hosting Pac-12 rivals Arizona State next Sunday, Feb. 6 at 2:00 p.m. for their final home match of the season.
RESULTS vs. Cal Poly
125: #30 Antonio Lorenzo (Cal Poly) DEC
Jayden Carson, 5-4
133: Abe Hinrichsen (Cal Poly) DEC
Jaylen Carson, 8-1
141: #30 Lawrence Saenz (Cal Poly) DEC
Conner Ward, 4-1
149: #18 Legend Lamer (Cal Poly) DEC
Joseph Bianchi, 6-1
157: Brawley Lamer (Cal Poly) win by forfeit
165: #1 Evan Wick (Cal Poly) DEC
Tyler Brennan, 6-1
174: #9 Adam Kemp (Cal Poly) DEC
Triston Wills, 4-1
184: #5 Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) TF
Brayden Dillow, 18-3
197: Trent Tracy (Cal Poly) TF Brooks Sacharcyzk, 16-0
285: Sam Aguilar (Cal Poly) win by forfeit
RESULTS vs. Northern Illinois
125: Bryce West (NIU) DEC
Jayden Carson, 5-3
133:
Jaylen Carson DEC Mikey Kaminski (NIU), 6-3
141: Jaivon Jones (NIU) DEC
Conner Ward, 4-1
149: Anthony Cheloni (NIU) DEC
Joseph Bianchi, 7-4
157: Anthony Gibson (NIU) win by forfeit
165: #16 Izzak Olejnik (NIU) MD
Tyler Brennan, 9-0
174:
Triston Wills DEC #23 Mason Kauffman (NIU), 4-1
184: #19 Brit Wilson (NIU) F
Brayden Dillow, 3:34
197: Tristan Guaman (NIU) MD Brooks Sacharcyzk, 11-3
285: Terrese Aaron (NIU) win by forfeit
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