CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Three Little Rock wrestlers placed at the Southern Scuffle tournament as the team finished within the top 10 teams for the second year in a row.
Joseph Bianchi and
Nasir Bailey both took third in their respective brackets, while
Josiah Hill also stood on the podium in back-to-back Scuffle appearances.
In addition to the three podium finishers, two Trojans moved on to the second day of the prestigious event:
Brendon Abdon and
Reid Nelson. The five wrestlers together total a record number of advancements for the program, as Little Rock advanced four and placed three last season.
"A lot of our guys took advantage of their opportunities and wrestled well," said associate head coach
Javier Maldonado. "What I'm most proud of is how they responded to tough situations and tough losses. They responded to adversity the right way, went back to focusing on scoring points, and made good things happen."
The older of the two Bianchi brothers that remain on the squad,
Joseph Bianchi proved tenacity and grit in every single match to stay alive all the way through the evening medal matches. En route, he picked up ranked wins over wrestlers from Northern Colorado and Stanford, claiming third place overall. Last season, the redshirt senior went winless – this year, bumped up two weight classes, Bianchi finished 5-1. The five victories push him to 11-7 on the season, just four wins away from tying his career-high in a single year.
"Joey did what we asked him to do," said Coach Maldonado. "He came in, created separation, and took care of business. If he shows up like this the rest of the year, he's gonna be tough to beat."
The youngest of the two Bailey brothers on the Little Rock roster, Nasir picked up four bonus point wins as he made his way through his first Scuffle. The true freshman's only trip up was against the second-place finisher from Northern Colorado, where he dropped a 5-3 decision. Aside from that one takedown, Bailey did not allow any others throughout the tournament. He now holds a 13-2 record, the best on the team.
"Nasir needed this," admitted Coach Maldonado. "I'm proud of the way he responded after a loss to wrestle his way back to third. That's a big step toward him reaching his goals later in the year."
For the second year in a row,
Josiah Hill finished seventh in the heavyweight bracket, ending the day with a tech fall to also make every win a bonus point win. His only two losses in the tournament were decisions: one by just one point and the other occurring in tiebreakers. Like Bianchi, he now owns a record of 11-7.
"When Jo focuses on things he can control and what wins, and is disciplined to stay the course, he does really well," said Coach Maldonado. "It was his bonus points at the end of the tournament that pushed us into the top 10."
Abdon's performance was a vast improvement from his showing last year at the Scuffle when he went out in two bouts without a win. This time around, the redshirt freshman collected wins over wrestlers from Brown, Davidson, and Pac-12 conference opponents CSU-Bakersfield.
Meanwhile, Nelson fell in the first round of the bracket, but notched tough back-to-back wins over competitors from Bloomsburg and Chattanooga to stay alive and move on to the second day of wrestling.
"Brendon and Reid improved from last year and learned that they've got to be the guy to take scoring opportunities to continue to see success," added Coach Maldonado. "I expect them to grow from this experience. We're getting better and this is part of the process."
For everyone else, there was also a theme of development:
Cael Keck and
Austin Keal both earned wins this year, while
Kodiak Cannedy picked up a win at his first Scuffle and true freshman
Nico Lozano claimed his first victory as a Trojan.
With tournaments now put aside until the Pac-12 Championships in March, January will be a chance for Little Rock to collect more dual wins under their belt. The Trojans begin with four in a row at the Davidson Duals on January 11 and 12 before returning home to the Jack Stephens Center on Friday, January 19 for a 7 p.m. conference dual opener against Arizona State.
Little Rock Results
Reid Nelson (2-2) – 125 pounds
- Championship Round of 32 - Aedyn Concepcion (Gardner-Webb) DEC Reid Nelson (Little Rock), 6-4
- Consolation Round of 16 - Reid Nelson (Little Rock) DEC Bronson Garber (Bloomsburg), 6-4
- Consolation Round of 8 #1 - Reid Nelson (Little Rock) MD Ty Tice (Chattanooga), 11-2
- Consolation Round of 8 #2 - Desmond Pleasant (Drexel) DEC Reid Nelson (Little Rock), 11-7
Nasir Bailey (4-1) – 133 pounds, 3rd place
- Championship Round of 32 - Bye
- Championship Round of 16 - Nasir Bailey (Little Rock) TF Tj England (Clarion), 16-1 5:25
- Championship Quarterfinals - Nasir Bailey (Little Rock) MD Hunter Adrian (Brown), 14-1
- Championship Semifinals - Dom Serrano (N. Colorado) DEC Nasir Bailey (Little Rock), 5-3
- Consolation Semifinals - 133 Nasir Bailey (Little Rock) MD Tyler Knox (Stanford), 15-1
- Third-Place Match: Nasir Bailey (Little Rock) MD Blake Boarman (Chattanooga), 13-4
Josh Sarpy (0-2) – 133 pounds
- Championship Round of 32 - Fernando Barretto (ND State) MD Josh Sarpy (Little Rock), 13-4
- Consolation Round of 16 - Dom Lajoie (Stanford) TF Josh Sarpy (Little Rock), 22-5 5:43
Cael Keck (1-2) – 141 pounds
- Championship Round of 32 - Cael Keck (Little Rock) MD Josh Virengo (Davidson), 8-0
- Championship Round of 16 - Riley Edwards (Appalachian State) DEC Cael Keck (Little Rock), 2-1
- Consolation Round of 16 - Ian Oswalt (Brown) DEC Cael Keck (Little Rock), 2-1
Chase Tebbets (0-2) – 157 pounds
- Championship Round of 32 - Alejandro Herrera-rondon (Clarion) DEC Chase Tebbets (Little Rock), 3-1
- Consolation Round of 16 - Thomas Snipes (The Citadel) DEC Chase Tebbets (Little Rock), 6-3
Joseph Bianchi (5-1) – 165 pounds, 3rd place
- Championship Round of 32 - Joey Bianchi (Little Rock) DEC Cody Walsh (Drexel), 7-6
- Championship Round of 16 - Joey Bianchi (Little Rock) DEC Macon Myers (Bloomsburg), 12-7
- Championship Quarterfinals - Joey Bianchi (Little Rock) DEC Baylor Fernandes (N. Colorado), 7-2
- Championship Semifinals - Gunner Filipowicz (Army) F Joey Bianchi (Little Rock), 8:03
- Consolation Semifinals - Joey Bianchi (Little Rock) MD Hunter Garvin (Stanford), 9-1
- Third-Place Match: Joey Bianchi (Little Rock) M FOR Tyler Lillard (Indiana)
Brendon Abdon (3-2) – 165 pounds
- Championship Round of 32 - Brendon Abdon (Little Rock) DEC Bryce Sanderlin (Davidson), 8-5
- Championship Round of 16 - Gunner Filipowicz (Army) DEC Brendon Abdon (Little Rock), 8-1
- Consolation Round of 16 - Brendon Abdon (Little Rock) MD Dominic Frontino (Brown), 21-8
- Consolation Round of 8 #1 - Brendon Abdon (Little Rock) DEC Guillermo Escobedo (CSU-Bakersfield), 2-1
- Consolation Round of 8 #2 - Hunter Garvin (Stanford) DEC Brendon Abdon (Little Rock), 9-3
Bilal Bailey (1-2) – 165 pounds
- Championship Round of 32 - Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell) DEC Bilal Bailey (Little Rock), 5-3
- Consolation Round of 16 #1 - Bilal Bailey (Little Rock) MD Eli Brinsky (Clarion), 16-4
- Consolation Round of 16 #2 - Guillermo Escobedo (CSU-Bakersfield) DEC Bilal Bailey (Little Rock), 6-3
Nico Lozano (1-2) – 165 pounds
- Championship Round of 32 - Tyler Lillard (Indiana) F Nico Lozano (Little Rock), 2:01
- Consolation Round of 16 #1 - Nico Lozano (Little Rock) MD Marc Koch (Davidson), 9-1
- Consolation Round of 16 #2 - Macon Myers (Bloomsburg) DEC Nico Lozano (Little Rock), 13-7
Kodiak Cannedy (1-2) – 174 pounds
- Championship Round of 32 - Dj Washington (Indiana) MD Kodiak Cannedy (Little Rock), 14-4
- Consolation Round of 16 #1 - Kodiak Cannedy (Little Rock) F Logan Eller (Appalachian State), 5:00
- Consolation Round of 16 #2 - Suds Dubler (Clarion) DEC Kodiak Cannedy (Little Rock), 9-7
Austin Keal (1-2) – 174 pounds
- Championship Round of 32 - Gavin Sax (ND State) TF Austin Keal (Little Rock), 15-0 5:20
- Consolation Round of 16 #1 - Austin Keal (Little Rock) DEC Jack Wimmer (Duke), 9-3
- Consolation Round of 16 #2 - Travis Mastrogiovanni (N. Colorado) MD Austin Keal (Little Rock), 14-3
Warren Hoyt (0-2) – 174 pounds
- Championship Round of 32 - Ben Pasiuk (Army) F Warren Hoyt (Little Rock), 1:28
- Consolation Round of 16 - Clay Fielden (Indiana) TF Warren Hoyt (Little Rock), 15-0 5:00
Josiah Hill (3-2) – 285 pounds, 7
th place
- Championship Round of 32 - Bye
- Championship Round of 16 - Josiah Hill (Little Rock) F Remington Peterson (N. Colorado), 2:14
- Championship Quarterfinals - Peter Ming (Stanford) DEC Josiah Hill (Little Rock), 8-7
- Consolation Round of 8 - Josiah Hill (Little Rock) MD Ethan Vergara (Chattanooga), 8-0
- Consolation Round of 4 - Juan Mora (Oklahoma) DEC Josiah Hill (Little Rock), 5-2 TB2
- Seventh-Place Match - Josiah Hill (Little Rock) TF Connor Barket (Duke), 17-2 5:29
Matthew Weinert (0-2) – 285 pounds
- Championship Round of 32 - Bye
- Championship Round of 16 - Lucas Stoddard (Army) F Matthew Weinert (Little Rock), 1:13
- Consolation Round of 16 - Ethan Vergara (Chattanooga) DEC Matthew Weinert (Little Rock), 10-6
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