NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Little Rock made a statement today at the Collegiate Duals – that the Trojans fight to the very end. While battling three top-15 teams, Little Rock came away with a handful of ranked wins and even pushed #13 Pittsburgh to declare a team victory by criteria in the final dual of the day.
"It's not indicative of how far we've got to go, it's more indicative of how far we've come and we're at," said head coach
Neil Erisman. "We're not far from reaching our goals. And while I'm upset we walked away with three losses here, I felt like we grew. We were grateful to be here, and I think we took advantage of the opportunity."
Collecting Ranked Wins
True freshman
Nasir Bailey told hold of his chance to show the world what he's made of, going head-to-head with three ranked opponents and finishing the day 2-1. He claimed a tech fall in the first period against #8 Evan Frost from Iowa State, bouncing back right after dropping a tight 4-0 decision to Cornell's #2 Vito Arujau, the defending NCAA champion. Bailey finished his day with another win over #23 Vinnie Santaniello from Pitt, a 12-8 decision, and moved to 9-1 on the season.
Triston Wills went 2-1 on the day as well, taking a 5-0 decision in the Cornell match and finishing with a gritty fall over #14 Reece Heller from Pitt. The pin was not only his first over a ranked foe in his collegiate career, but first fall over a Division I opponent. The redshirt senior finished the long weekend in Tennessee going 4-1 as one of the leaders on the team.
Another big result at the event was
Brennan Van Hoecke's first career ranked victory, again coming in the last match against Pittsburgh. Up against #15 Cole Matthews, he took his shots early, never giving Pitt a lead after claiming two takedowns in period one. The redshirt freshman took home a 10-6 decision to end his day on a high note.
Nearly Knocking Off a Ranked Team
Looking at each match's bouts individually, the Trojans held their own: #5 Cornell only took away bonus points in three of their eight wins, while three bouts against #6 Iowa State were separated by four points or less. Along with the wins from Bailey and Wills in the first two duals,
Tyler Brennan stuck his opponent from Cornell for his sixth pin of the season and
Stephen Little brought home a major decision against Iowa State.
Pitt and Little Rock split bouts in the final round, with the result ending 21-21 following the heavyweight match. Since NCAA wrestling does not allow ties, the tiebreaker went to the team with the most match points scored, discounting falls, forfeits, defaults, and disqualifications – every point from the other bouts, added up. Pitt ended with 58 compared to Little Rock's 54, which solidified the overall score, 22-21.
Matty Bianchi and
Brendon Abdon each were on fire offensively in the match against Pitt, earning bonus point wins that greatly contributed to the point total, but the Trojans were just shy of overcoming the ranked team.
Hard Work Paying Off
"I believe that people recognize hard work when it's earned," said Coach Erisman. "I feel like our guys have earned any recognition that they've gotten and they're going to have to continue earning it."
"Everyone has been paying attention to us first because we're a new program and second because we've recruited at a high level," he added, "But the most fulfilling part of people watching us is that they're watching our student-athletes' hard work, the ability behind it, and the talent we've got here…and anyone that notices is recognizing the accumulation of hard work and good choices."
With updated rankings coming out soon and one last tournament right around the corner, Little Rock is on track to make Season Five the most special yet – and it's still not too late to hop on the Trojan Train. Cheer them on at the annual Southern Scuffle on January 1 and 2 in Chattanooga, but make sure to also mark your calendar for Little Rock's next home dual on Friday, January 19 at 7 p.m. against Pac-12 foes Arizona State.
#5 Cornell 32, Little Rock 8
125 - Brett Ungar (Cornell) DEC
Jeremiah Reno (Little Rock), 7-3
133 - Vito Arujau (Cornell) DEC
Nasir Bailey (Little Rock), 4-0
141 - Vince Cornella (Cornell) TF
Brennan Van Hoecke (Little Rock), 17-1
149 - Ethan Fernandez (Cornell) DEC
Kyle Dutton (Little Rock), 14-13
157 - Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) DEC
Matty Bianchi (Little Rock), 8-1
165 - Julian Ramirez (Cornell) F
Bilal Bailey (Little Rock), 2:17
174 -
Tyler Brennan (Little Rock) F Benny Baker (Cornell), 4:31
184 - Tristan Wills (Little Rock) DEC Christian Hansen (Cornell), 5-0
197 - Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) F
Stephen Little (Little Rock), 5:12
285 - Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) DEC
Josiah Hill (Little Rock), 5-0
#6 Iowa State 31, Little Rock 9
125 - Ethan Perryman (Iowa State) DEC
Jeremiah Reno (Little Rock), 10-9
133 -
Nasir Bailey (Little Rock) TF Evan Frost (Iowa State), 15-0
141 - Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State) MD
Brennan Van Hoecke (Little Rock), 19-6
149 - Zach Redding (Iowa State) MD
Kyle Dutton (Little Rock), 9-1
157 - Cody Chittum (Iowa State) DEC
Matty Bianchi (Little Rock), 10-6
165 - Connor Euton (Iowa State) DEC
Joseph Bianchi (Little Rock), 10-7
174 - MJ Gaitan (Iowa State) MD
Kodiak Cannedy (Little Rock), 15-4
184 - Will Feldkamp (Iowa State) F
Triston Wills (Little Rock), 3:21
197 -
Stephen Little (Little Rock) MD Caleb Helgeson (Iowa State), 14-5
285 - Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) MD
Josiah Hill (Little Rock), 14-4
#13 Pittsburgh 22, Little Rock 21
125 - Colton Camacho (Pittsburgh) MD
Reid Nelson (Little Rock), 20-7
133 -
Nasir Bailey (Little Rock) DEC Vince Santaniello (Pittsburgh), 12-8
141 -
Brennan Van Hoecke (Little Rock) DEC Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh), 10-6
149 - Finn Solomon (Pittsburgh) over
Kyle Dutton (Little Rock), injury default
157 -
Matty Bianchi (Little Rock) MD Jared Keslar (Pittsburgh), 8-0
165 -
Brendon Abdon (Little Rock) TF Grant MacKay (Pittsburgh), 15-0
174 - Luca Augustine (Pittsburgh) DEC
Tyler Brennan (Little Rock), 3-1
184 -
Triston Wills (Little Rock) F Reece Heller (Pittsburgh), 2:31
197 - Mac Stout (Pittsburgh) TF
Tanner Mendoza (Little Rock), 18-1
285 - Dayton Pitzer (Pittsburgh) DEC
Josiah Hill (Little Rock), 5-0
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