BROOKINGS, S.D. - The Little Rock wrestling team concluded a tough road swing in the Dakotas this afternoon, dropping their final dual of the regular season to the #25 South Dakota State, 43-3.
Joseph Bianchi was able to get the Trojans on the board at 149 pounds, going 2-0 on the weekend with another win by decision under his belt.
Bianchi stayed aggressive throughout the first period, his hard work paying off with a late takedown. In the second period, the redshirt sophomore picked bottom, turning around for the reversal to extend his lead. In the final two minutes, he added another takedown and a point for riding time to secure the 7-4 decision, only allowing escapes from his opponent. His two victories of the weekend move him to 14-11 on the season, leading the team in both wins and winning percentage to cap off his breakout year.
"It was a really great weekend for Joey," remarked head coach
Neil Erisman. "This type of consistency is what it takes for him, and we're looking for him to keep moving this direction."
Little Rock was overwhelmed by the ranked Jackrabbits, only able to hold South Dakota State to three decisions out of the nine matches dropped. Of those,
Jaylen Carson was the only Trojan able to land a takedown. His attack in the third period, trailing 8-2 at the time, showed a gritty effort to prevent his ranked foe from earning a major decision.
The Trojans will use the next few weeks to prepare for the Pac-12 Championships and a final chance at qualifying for Nationals. The team will travel to Tempe, Arizona for the conference tournament, which take place on Sunday, March 6.
"We've got three weeks here to sharpen and fine tune a lot of things," added Coach Erisman. "We'll be focusing on getting as much as we can out this time. It's important to work on our mindset and mentality approaching Pac 12s and continue to be excited. Everyone is 0-0 going into the tournament and everyone controls their own destiny."
RESULTS vs. #25 South Dakota State
125: Tanner Jordan (SDSU) F
Jayden Carson (4:45)
133: #33 Gabriel Tagg (SDSU) DEC
Jaylen Carson, 11-4
141: #13 Clay Carlson (SDSU) MD
Conner Ward, 13-3
149:
Joseph Bianchi DEC Daniel Kimball (SDSU), 7-4
157: Kenny O'Neil (SDSU) DEC
Chase Tebbets, 2-1
165: #33 Tanner Cook (SDSU) DEC
Tyler Brennan, 7-1
174: #12 Cade DeVos (SDSU) F
Triston Wills, 4:56
184: Cade King (SDSU) F
Tanner Mendoza, 1:29
197: #10 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) F
Brooks Sacharczyk, 1:12
285: #24 A.J. Nevills (SDSU) F
Josiah Hill, 4:09
Extra Match:
184: Jacob Schoon (SDSU) F
Brayden Dillow, 2:12
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
