LITTLE ROCK – The Trojan wrestling team has one more away challenge on deck before closing out the regular season, traveling to the Dakotas for a pair of road duals this weekend. Little Rock will face North Dakota State at 7 p.m. on Friday night before going head-to-head with #25 South Dakota State on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Fans will be able to watch the Trojans online, follow results on TrackWrestling, and stay up to date with the team's official Twitter account
@LittleRockWRES.
WATCH Little Rock at North Dakota State
WATCH Little Rock at #25 South Dakota State
Last Time Out
The Trojans had a split weekend last Friday and Sunday, traveling to #25 Oklahoma Friday before hosting #13 Arizona State for their final home dual Sunday. While Little Rock fell to both ranked teams, the team picked up three bouts against the defending Pac-12 champs. Headed into the final pair of duals this weekend,
Triston Wills leads the team with a record of 12-9 and three ranked victories under his belt, while
Joseph Bianchi and
Tyler Brennan also have tallied 12 wins each.
North Dakota State Notes
The Bison of North Dakota State welcome the Trojans to Fargo for the first meeting between the two teams, going into the match with a record of 8-3 overall and 3-3 in the Big 12. NDSU has been receiving votes in the NWCA Coaches Poll in weeks past, but is not currently in the standings, despite only falling to top-25 teams Iowa State, Missouri, and Northern Iowa.
North Dakota State boasts seven ranked wrestlers, including returning National qualifiers at 157, 165, 197, and 285 as well as the defending Big 12 champion at 165 pounds. Currently, their 197 pounder has 10 pins on the season, tied for second in the nation.
South Dakota State Specifics
Meanwhile, this will be the third matchup between the Trojans and the Jackrabbits, albeit it the first time that Little Rock faces SDSU in enemy territory. In Little Rock's inaugural season, South Dakota State took every bout from the Trojans, but last season,
Little Rock claimed wins at 125 and 133 at home.
This year, the Jackrabbits sit at #25 in the NWCA Coaches Poll rankings, cracking the standings for the first time in three seasons with help from six wrestlers in the top 33, via Intermat. Three of those six are returning National qualifiers, at 141, 157, and 197. In addition, their 165 pounder has 10 pins this year, tied for second in the nation.
South Dakota State is 10-4 overall, while 3-2 against Big 12 conference opponents. Their losses come from currently ranked teams Minnesota, Central Michigan, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma.
View all probable starters below (rankings via
Intermat):
Little Rock Probables
125:
Jayden Carson, R-So. (9-14)
133:
Jaylen Carson, R-So. (11-12)
141:
Conner Ward, R-Jr. (4-14)
149:
Joseph Bianchi, R-So. (12-11)
157:
Austin Keal, R-Fr. (5-8)
165:
Tyler Brennan, R-So. (12-11)
174:
Triston Wills, R-So. (12-9)
184:
Brayden Dillow, Fr. (4-7) -or-
Tanner Mendoza, So. (6-7)
197:
Brooks Sacharczyk, R-Fr. (5-17)
285:
Josiah Hill, R-Fr. (11-10)
North Dakota State Probables
125: Ryan Henningson -or- Lucas Rodriguez
133: #22 Kellyn March
141: #29 Dylan Droegemueller
149: Gaven Sax
157: #6 Jared Franek
165: #13 Luke Weber
174: #27 Austin Brenner -or- Riley Habisch
184: DJ Parker -or- Michael Nelson
197: #23 Owen Pentz
285: #23 Brandon Metz
#25 South Dakota State Probables
125: Tanner Jordan
133: #33 Gabriel Tagg -or- Caleb Gross
141: #13 Clay Carlson
149: Daniel Kimball
157: Kenny O'Neil
165: #33 Tanner Cook
174: #12 Cade DeVos
184: Cade King
197: #10 Tanner Sloan -or- Nick Casperson
285: #24 A.J. Nevills
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
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