LITTLE ROCK - Even in the fifth season of competition, the firsts never seem to run out for the Little Rock wrestling team. Today,
Stephen Little,
Nasir Bailey,
Josiah Hill and
Matty Bianchi each collected in-season weekly rankings via FloWrestling, Intermat, and Amateur Wrestling News in major moves for the Trojans. It marks the most Little Rock wrestlers appearing in the rankings in program history.
Little collected the highest-ever ranking ever received by a Trojan wrestler at #8 through Flo, while Bailey is the first true freshman to ever secure a spot in the rankings, notably right after his first-ever collegiate competition. Meanwhile,
Josiah Hill moved up in the rankings at heavyweight while
Matty Bianchi made his first appearance in the weekly rankings in his career.
Last weekend, Little took the title in the 197 weight class at the Tiger Style Invitational, highlighted by a ranked upset win over former #8 Jaxon Smith from Maryland in the finals. It's the third ranked win for the redshirt freshman in his short collegiate career. His efforts so far this season have him ranked #8 from FloWrestling, #15 from Intermat, and #15 from Amateur Wrestling News.
The program's highest-ranked recruit to ever commit to the Trojans, true freshman
Nasir Bailey competed in a Little Rock singlet for the first time this past weekend, taking out former #28 Zeke Seltzer from Missouri for an exciting 8-5 overtime victory in the finals. He is the first Little Rock wrestler to be listed not only as a true freshman but also immediately after his debut.
Meanwhile, Hill has been a constant for the Trojans, moving up in the rankings two spots from 31 to 29 via FloWrestling and holding steady at #28 on Intermat. He finished third at the Tiger Style Invitational, collecting wins by decision over wrestlers from Missouri and Cal Poly.
This past weekend, the younger Bianchi beat out #25 Legend Lamer from Cal Poly by 4-1 decision on his way to third place at the tournament. His #25 spot on FloWrestling marks the first time he's been nationally recognized for his athletic performance.
Come watch all four Trojans wrestle at home this Friday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. against #20 Oklahoma. Wear white and help us white out the Jack Stephens Center arena!
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
