SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA. – Little Rock wrestling delivered an impressive performance at the 2026 Pac-12 Wrestling Championships on Friday at the Mott Athletics Center, finishing second in the team standings with 81 points and qualifying three wrestlers for the NCAA Championships.
The Trojans crowned three individual conference champions as Brock Herman (149), Jaivon Jones (157) and Stephen Little (197) each captured Pac-12 titles. Little Rock also placed seven wrestlers in the championship finals in a strong showing across the lineup.
Herman secured the Trojans' first title of the night with a thrilling 12-10 decision over Cal Poly's Andre Gonzales in the 149-pound final. Herman reached the championship bout after defeating Hayden Zinkin of CSU Bakersfield 6-2 in the semifinals.
At 157 pounds, Jones delivered one of the most dominant performances of the tournament. He opened the day with a fall in 3:46 over CSU Bakersfield's Devyn Flores-Che in the semifinals before defeating Oregon State's CJ Hamblin 5-1 in the tiebreaker in the championship match to claim the conference crown.
"It's been a long journey, just taking it one step at a time, trusting God's plan, believing in myself and trusting in my coaches," Jones said. "I just keep going and keep chipping away. It feels really good right now.
I told them at the beginning of the year that I knew I'd qualify. I wasn't really worried about that. I want to be a national champion, so I just keep trying to do the right things every day, day in and day out. Living my life consistently, doing the right things on the mat and off the mat, and keeping myself around the right people."
Little capped the Trojans' championship performances at 197 pounds with a thrilling 4-3 decision over Oregon State's Justin Rademacher, handing the nationally ranked Beaver just his third loss of the season. Little advanced to the final with a 19-4 technical fall over Cal Poly's Cole Jackson in the semifinals. For his performance throughout the tournament, Little was named the Pac-12 Tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler.
"I'm honored, but I'm more excited for what's to come for the team!" Little said after receiving the award.
Little Rock also had strong runner-up finishes from Dillon Cooper (133), Brennan Van Hoecke (141), Gunner Holland (174) and Michael Gasper (285). Cooper reached the final after defeating CSU Bakersfield's Robert Jones 8-1 in the semifinals before falling to Oregon State's Gabe Whisenhunt by major decision, 10-1.
Van Hoecke advanced to the 141-pound championship match with a 4-0 decision over CSU Bakersfield's Santino Sanchez before falling to Oregon State's Nash Singleton by major decision, 11-2.
At 174 pounds, Holland defeated Cal Poly's Cash Stewart 7-2 in the semifinals before dropping the final to Oregon State's Daschle Lamer.
At heavyweight, Gasper advanced to the championship bout with a dominant 12-2 major decision over CSU Bakersfield's Mason Cover before narrowly falling 1-0 to Cal Poly's Trevor Tinker in the final.
Little Rock also saw a strong showing from Matty Bianchi at 165 pounds. Bianchi entered the tournament having secured a Pac-12 pre-allocation for the NCAA Championships earlier this season and is now hoping to receive an at-large bid following the conference tournament to secure his spot at the national tournament.
Off the mat, Bianchi was honored as the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, becoming the first Trojan in program history to receive the prestigious academic award.
"Really cool to be recognized for the Pac-12 Scholar Athlete. I never thought I would get much recognition for my academics. Academics are important to me, and it's what you need to be consistent everywhere in your life. So it feels great being able to hopefully show others that wrestling doesn't last forever, so don't skip out on great opportunities to excel in your education," Bianchi said.
Head coach Neil Erisman praised the team's performance and the progress the program has made throughout the season.
"Yeah, well first off, I think we'll have four tickets punched here soon. It felt like today was a pretty solid day. We had seven in the finals and three champions. From where we started the year to where we are now is a big difference," said Erisman. "We didn't have to finish that way, but we had a lot of fight today. We had a lot of courage. We put ourselves in a lot of positions to go to the NCAA Tournament, and I'm proud of those guys. They were right there, and that's something to be proud of. I feel like we've still got a lot of unfinished business."
As a team, Little Rock finished second in the tournament standings with 81 points behind Oregon State's 92.5. Cal Poly placed third with 73 points, followed by CSU Bakersfield with 27.
The Trojans will send three wrestlers to the NCAA Championships with Herman (149), Jones (157) and Stephen Little (197) earning qualification through the Pac-12 tournament.
With three conference champions, seven finalists and multiple postseason honors, Little Rock now turns its focus to the NCAA Championships later this month.
The 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will take place March 19–21 in Philadelphia.
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 X.
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