LITTLE ROCK - The #15 nationally ranked Little Rock wrestling team will wrap up the regular season on the road this weekend in California with some Pac-12 action. The Trojans take on Cal Poly on Friday, February 14 at 9 p.m. CT before the team heads to CSU-Bakersfield on Sunday, February 16 to dual North Dakota State at 1 p.m. CT and the hosts at 4 p.m. CT.
How to Follow Along
Coach's Corner
"It's an exciting weekend," said head coach
Neil Erisman. "We're ready to finish out our regular season and our conference season. We've been wrestling well. We just gotta continue to be strong on our last road trip."
Cal Poly and Little Rock met at the NWCA National Duals, a dual team-tournament, where the Trojans squeaked by with the 22-19 win. This time around, Little Rock looks to handle the Mustangs more efficiently in a solo one-vs-one dual. Cal Poly is not nationally ranked overall but sits at #20 in the NWCA Mid-Major Poll.
"We have our first tough dual on Friday night at Cal Poly," added Coach Erisman. "We had a barn-burner of a match at the National Duals, and we're excited to rerun it."
Meanwhile, North Dakota State is looking to be a revenge match for the Trojans, as the teams haven't faced one another since 2022. In their two past meetings, the Bison scored over 30 points and limited Little Rock to single-digit points.
Finally, CSU-Bakersfield is the only Pac-12 team that has never beaten the Trojans; four years ago, their first dual led Little Rock to its first-ever Division I dual win. However, the Roadrunners are seeing more success this season in several years, with help from former Cowboy and All-American AJ Ferrari in the mix at 197 pounds, currently unbeaten this year.
"We're finishing out with a tough Sunday, facing two teams, NDSU and Cal-Bakersfield," Coach Erisman pointed out. "It'll be a good test as we head into postseason."
Battle for the Pac-12
The race for the regular season title is still on the line as the Trojans look to become champions in back-to-back years. Little Rock is 1-0 in the Pac-12 this season after taking out Oregon State 29-14 at home on January 24. With a smaller conference after Stanford and Arizona State left for the ACC and Big 12, respectively, only Cal Poly and CSU-Bakersfield remain on the slate for the Trojans.
Neither team is ranked, while both California schools fell to Oregon State in the last week. While this doesn't lock up the regular season championship, it certainly makes it a great deal easier for the Trojans should something go awry. Cal Poly has six individually ranked wrestlers just like Little Rock, so the best bet is to knock the Mustangs out of the running quickly tomorrow.
Who's Hitting the Mat
The probables for this Sunday's duals features not just the several Trojans that have had success this year, which includes the five Little Rock wrestlers listed in the second Coaches Rankings:
Nasir Bailey,
Jordan Williams,
Matty Bianchi,
Brock DelSignore and
Stephen Little. They're joined by
Tyler Brennan in the first RPI release of the season.
All five Trojans in the second Coaches Ranking are within the top 16, which points to a high likelihood of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. Bailey leads the way at #6 in the 133-pound weight class, followed by Little (#7, 197 pounds), Williams (#11, 149 pounds), Bianchi (#12, 157 pounds), and DelSignore (#16, 184 pounds). In the first RPI Ranking, Brennan checks in at #31 in the 174-pound weight class, meaning that if he can win out, he could be on the bubble to qualify for Nationals in his final season.
#15 Little Rock Probables
125:
Jayden Carson OR
Reid Nelson
133: #9
Nasir Bailey
141:
Brennan Van Hoecke OR
Cole Minnick
149: #13
Jordan Williams
157: #12
Matty Bianchi
165: #33
Joseph Bianchi OR
Nico Lozano
174:
Tyler Brennan
184: #16
Brock DelSignore OR
Triston Wills
197: #7
Stephen Little
285:
KJ Miley OR
Branson Britten
Cal Poly Probables
125: #30 Koda Holeman OR Zeke Vela
133: #2 Zeth Romney
141: Caleb Park
149: #9 Chance Lamer OR Gavin Fernandez
157: #33 Legend Lamer
165: #25 Luka Wick OR Anthony Berg
174: Cash Stewart OR Kendall La Rosa
184: Daschle Lamer
197: Tyler Hodges OR Wesley Wilson OR Josh Harkey
285: #22 Trevor Tinker
North Dakota State Probables
125: Tristan Daugherty OR Ezekiel Witt
133: #23 Kyle Burwick
141: Gideon Cole OR Michael Olson
149: #31 Gavin Drexler
157: Max Petersen
165: Boeden Greenley
174: Devin Wasley, Max Magayna
184: #32 Aidan Brenot
197: Tayshaun Glover
285: Drew Blackburn-Forst
CSU-Bakersfield Probables
125: Richard Castro-Sandoval
133: Santino Sanchez
141: Hayden Zinkin
149: Brock Rogers
157: Devyn Flores-Che OR Jose Farias
165: Guillermo Escobedo OR Evan Manzo
174: Chris Neal or Coen Quintana
184: Gerrit Nijenhuis
197: #2 AJ Ferrari
Hwt: #20 Jake Andrews
*Rankings via InterMat
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
