BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Coming off the heels of a disappointing loss at Cal Poly and just before the Little Rock wrestling team hopped in vans to drive across the state of California for their second dual of the day, head coach Neil Erisman challenged his squad to push through the tough moments and find a way to win.
The Trojans accepted that challenge, collecting eight of the ten bouts at CSU-Bakersfield and posting a solid conference win in the final competition of the weekend, 30-6.
There were several impressive matches throughout the day, from the three bonus point wins at CSU-Bakersfield to one Little Rock wrestler's perfect 2-0 outing, and even a pair of first-period pins. Despite dropping a 25-10 dual to Cal Poly, Little Rock only allowed one bonus point win to the Mustangs.
"Great way to end the weekend," said Coach Erisman. "It was a tough weekend, the hardest road trip we've had all year, and we had a lot of adversity."
"I was happy for the guys and the way they finished their night," he continued. "It's important to finish with a dominating attitude, and we need to replicate that consistently. We lost a lot of close matches today, but if we can find that same energy we had against Bakersfield, we'll have a lot of success. We've got some guys doing some good things."
Stephen Little highlighted the Cal Poly match with his first collegiate pin, coming at 2:14 in the first period off of a clean cradle by "unleashing the Kraken," in Coach Erisman's words. The true freshman's six team points brought the team to double digits to soften the loss to the Mustangs, making it the closest result between the two teams in their three meetings.
In the evening,
Joseph Bianchi stuck his opponent in the first period as well, finding a way to put his Roadrunner foe in a bad position despite being in a tough position trailing by two takedowns. He claimed his third Pac-12 win just one second behind Little, earning the fall at 2:15.
Younger brother
Matty Bianchi also picked up his third Pac-12 win in the CSU-Bakersfield dual, showing strategy and execution in an 18-5 major decision full of takedowns and cuts to put him just shy of a tech fall.
The only Trojan to go 2-0 throughout the day was
Jeremiah Reno, as the sophomore picked up a 14-6 major decision at Cal Poly before finishing with a 12-10 decision at CSU-Bakersfield. Along with his win by forfeit versus Stanford, he also concludes the Pac-12 slate with three in the conference win column. The 125-pounder started each dual with a dub, which is crucial to the morale of the team.
Speaking of conference wins, a few other Trojans also earned their first Pac-12 dual victories this evening.
Josh Sarpy finished his day with an aggressive 17-2 tech fall in full time, giving the momentum to
Jaylen Carson, who earned a 4-2 decision in just his second dual appearance this season. Later,
Mason Diel held on for a 14-11 decision and his first Pac-12 win as well.
Little Rock improves to 2-0 over CSU-Bakersfield with a much more commanding team win this time around compared to the 24-21 result two years ago. Overall, the Trojans tallied 27 takedowns through the dual tonight.
The team has just one weekend left in the regular season. The Trojans will travel north to SIUE next Sunday, February 12 for back-to-back duals against the host team and fellow visitors Ohio for one last chance to get tough and tune up before the Pac-12 Championships on March 5.
RESULTS vs. Cal Poly (RV)
125:
Jeremiah Reno MD Koda Holeman (Cal Poly), 14-6
133: Ethan Rotondo (Cal Poly) DEC
Josh Sarpy, 7-2
141: Lawrence Saenz (Cal Poly) MD
Jayden Gomez, 11-3
149: #19 Dom Demas (Cal Poly) DEC
Joseph Bianchi, 6-4
157: Luka Wick (Cal Poly) DEC
Matty Bianchi, 8-5
165: Legend Lamer (Cal Poly) DEC
Tyler Brennan, 2-1
174: Brawley Lamer (Cal Poly) DEC
Triston Wills, 6-3
184: Jarad Priest (Cal Poly) DEC
Mason Diel, 8-2
197:
Stephen Little F Wesley Wilson (Cal Poly), 2:14
285: Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly) DEC
Josiah Hill, 3-2
RESULTS vs. CSU-Bakersfield
125:
Jeremiah Reno DEC Eddie Flores (CSU-Bakersfield), 12-10
133:
Josh Sarpy TF Romeo McNeal (CSU-Bakersfield), 17-2 (7:00)
141:
Jaylen Carson DEC Louie Ramos (CSU-Bakersfield), 4-2
149:
Joseph Bianchi F Josh Brown (CSU-Bakersfield), 2:15
157:
Matty Bianchi MD Tyler Deen (CSU-Bakersfield), 18-5
165:
Tyler Brennan DEC Braden Smelser (CSU-Bakersfield), 1-0
174: Albert Urias (CSU-Bakersfield) DEC
Triston Wills, 5-3 (SV-1)
184:
Mason Diel DEC Jacob Hansen (CSU-Bakersfield), 14-11
197: Mateo Morales (CSU-Bakersfield) DEC
Matthew Weinert, 10-9 (TB-1)
285:
Josiah Hill DEC Jake Andrews (CSU-Bakersfield), 9-3
Extra Matches:
125: Richard Castro-Sandoval (CSU-Bakersfield) DEC
Reid Nelson, 6-3
157:
Austin Keal DEC Devyn Flores-Che (CSU-Bakersfield), 9-6
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