Little Rock Heads West for Pac-12 Opener Against Oregon State

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Little Rock Wrestling is in the Pacific Northwest this weekend to open its Pac-12 schedule in a matchup of Top 20 teams. The No. 14 Trojans take the mat against No. 19 Oregon State tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. CST, and the competition will be available live via FloWrestling.
 
A dozen ranked wrestlers are expected to take the mat for the two teams, though Little Rock will likely be without its highest-ranked competitor, Stephen Little, who is ranked No. 3 at 197 pounds. Even so, the Trojans are set for several marquee matchups across the lineup. Matty Bianchi (No. 5) is expected to face Matthew Olguin (No. 24) in a premier battle of ranked wrestlers at 165 pounds.
 
"We're heading west to start our conference slate and are excited for a Friday night fight," head coach Neil Erisman said. "It's going to take a total team effort to get it done."
 
Brock Herman (No. 27) is a match-time decision vs. Oregon State's Noah Tolentino (No. 28) at 149 pounds, Jaivon Jones (No. 18) will compete for Little Rock at 157 pounds, and Michael Gasper (No. 30) looks to keep his momentum going in heavyweight competition.
 
Little Rock is 2-4 all-time against the Beavers, including 0-2 at Gill Coliseum. However, the Trojans have taken each of the past two duals between the schools, including last year's 29-14 victory in Little Rock.
 
Saturday's dual is the first of three in Pac-12 competition. The Trojans will host the final two, against CSU Bakersfield on Feb. 8 and Cal Poly on Feb. 15. Little Rock will be home again next weekend when it hosts Missouri on Jan. 31 for Hometown Heroes Night at The Jack Stephens Center.
 

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#14 Little Rock vs. #19 Oregon State
Probable Matchups
 
125 – Tyson Roach or Tyler Harper vs. #10 Maximo Renteria
133 – Dillon Cooper vs. #31 Gabe Whisenhunt
141 – Brennan Van Hoecke vs. #23 Nash Singleton
149 – #27 Brock Herman or Kyle Lew vs. #28 Noah Tolentino
157 – #18 Jaivon Jones vs. CJ Hamblin
165 – #5 Matty Bianchi vs. #24 Matthew Olguin
174 – Bronson Baxter vs. #25 Daschle Lamer
184 – Kodiak Cannedy vs. #30 TJ McDonnell
197 – Liam Daniels vs. #4 Justin Rademacher
HWT – #30 Michael Gasper vs. Khale McDonnell