STANFORD, Calif. – For the first time in history, the Little Rock wrestling team finished fifth as a team at the Pac-12 Championships, advancing a program-record five Trojans to the placement matches during the evening championship session.
"It was a good end to a good season," said head coach
Neil Erisman. "Regardless of expectation, we jumped levels. We accomplished things we've never done. We've set a new standard for the program."
Some of those accomplishments include the most dual wins the program has ever collected in a single season as well as their finish today, representing maroon and silver in five out of ten weights in the placement matches in a depth-heavy way to move up in the team scores.
"That's the most we've done in one year than we've done in the past three years," remarked Coach Erisman. "I'm very happy for all that's been earned. I truly believe we're moving in the right direction and that we've just gotta keep swinging the hammer. Eventually that rock's gonna crack, and it's gonna be pretty special."
Josiah Hill highlighted the evening with a third-place finish at heavyweight, his second podium finish in as many years as well as one place higher than last year. The redshirt sophomore went 3-1 on the day, only dropping a single match to the No. 1 seed, #5 ranked wrestler in the nation. Hill's final record of 17-12 is also the most wins that any Trojan has ever tallied in a single season.
Joseph Bianchi,
Matty Bianchi,
Tyler Brennan, and
Matthew Weinert each claimed fourth place in their respective weight classes, earning hardware for the first time. Before tonight, only four Trojans have ever placed at the Pac-12 Tournament.
They had already passed their previous team-high in points scored at the Pac-12 Championships by nine points following the fifth-place matches, with the five matches remaining, proving the leaps and bounds that the program has made over the past year, let alone the past four years since its inception.
Little Rock finished with a program-best 82 points, 24 points ahead of sixth place CSU-Bakersfield. In addition, the Trojans also showed off the largest seed-place differential out of all the teams, meaning that they out-wrestled their seeds more than anyone else in the tournament.
Josiah Hill – 3rd place, 285 pounds
In just his second Pac-12 tournament appearance, Hill made it to the placement matches, taking third overall after a 3-2 decision over No. 3 seed JJ Dixon from Oregon State. He also collected a pin over No. 5 seed Peter Ming of Stanford in the first round, and a 14-2 major decision over CSU-Bakersfield's Jake Andrews.
"Josiah revenged two losses from earlier in the year in a fashion that was not easy," added Coach Erisman. "Extremely glad to see him push through those hard moments and persevere. I hope he finds strength in that and doesn't look back. Excited to see what he's going to do and what choices he's going to make in the future."
Joseph Bianchi – 4th place, 149 pounds
This year was the older Bianchi's first time competing in the championship round after taking 5
th in the past two years. He went 2-2 on the day with a pair of decisions: a tough 5-4 decision in the first round and a 7-3 decision in the consolation round, only dropping matches to nationally ranked wrestlers.
Matty Bianchi – 4th place, 157 pounds
For the younger Bianchi, it was his first time competing for hardware, and the redshirt freshman claimed fourth in his first Pac-12 appearance.
After a 6-2 decision over Arizona State's Max Wilner in the first round, he dropped a narrow 4-2 loss against the No. 1 seed and #15 ranked wrestler in the country in semifinals, Daniel Cardenas of Stanford. Bianchi's 9-3 decision in the consolation round locked in his trip to the podium.
Coach Erisman gave credit to each of the Bianchi brothers, noting that he was incredibly proud to see Joey on the podium finally.
He added, "Matty's a go-er. That's what's gotten him this far. He peaked and wrestled his best at the end of the year."
Tyler Brennan – 4th place, 165 pounds
The only Trojan to compete at both the 2020 Pac-12 Championships held at Stanford as well as the 2023 Pac-12 Championships hosted by Stanford, Brennan finally made his way the evening round this year. His top game proved strong, locking in a 1-0 decision over Arizona State's Tony Negron in the first round as well as a 3-0 decision ahead of CSU-Bakersfield in consolation round.
Of Brennan's matches, Coach Erisman remarked, "No matter how good or bad every match was, Tyler found a way to get it done at the end of the year and found a way to win, and that's what's important. I'm excited about him moving forward."
Matthew Weinert – 4th place, 197 pounds
Despite a loss by fall to No. 3 seed, #28 ranked Nick Stemmet from Stanford in the first round, Weinert earned a win by forfeit in the consolation round to move to the third-place match at night. He finished fourth overall for important advancement team points after dropping a major decision to No. 2 seed, #15 ranked Tanner Harvey from Oregon State.
To wrap up his comments on the group of placers, of
Matthew Weinert, who jumped from the six seed to the fourth-place finisher, Coach Erisman said, "Matthew stepped up. Others quit. Others left the team high and dry. Matthew stayed the course and is now a Pac-12 placer forever."
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