Arkansas Wrestle (All images via lrtrojans.com)
LITTLE ROCK – It’s a good feeling to wrap up the conference schedule and home slate with two wins, and that’s exactly what #18 Little Rock wrestling did this afternoon at the Jack Stephens Center to cap off a magical season in front of the home crowd. The Trojans took out Pac-12 members CSU-Bakersfield 37-6 before defeating SIUE 33-6 in back-to-back matches, their 13th and 14th dual wins this season, respectively.
Little Rock moves to 3-0 against CSU-Bakersfield overall and 4-1 in the Pac-12, which secures at least a second-place finish in the conference for the regular season. First place is still up for grabs, depending on how Stanford wrestles against Arizona State and Oregon State next weekend. The Trojans took out SIUE for the first time in their fourth meeting.
“Great way to end the defense of our home turf this year,” said head coach Neil Erisman, giving props to Joseph Bianchi, Tyler Brennan and Triston Wills for going 2-0 on the day in their final matches at home. “Such a great way seeing all the seniors get a win. We’ve got a lot of appreciation and gratefulness for these guys.”
Along with Chase Tebbets nabbing a pin in an extra match against CSU-Bakersfield and Josh Sarpy stepping in at 133 pounds to win the bout in the first dual, the seniors had a perfect day. Tyler Brennan was a highlight for the Trojans, collecting two pins to bring his total to 10 this season. He stuck his first opponent in less than a minute, while Brennan was on his way to a tech fall in his second match against SIUE, securing the fall within the last minute of the third period. The 10 pins from the Fresno, Texas native is a program-high.
A solid pair of major decisions from Joseph Bianchi moved him to 20 wins on the year, with 10 of those coming from duals to prove his worth as an addition to the starting lineup halfway through the season. The older Bianchi finished perfect in duals against Pac-12 opponents. Meanwhile, Triston Wills picked up a first-period technical fall in his match for welcomed bonus points versus CSU-Bakersfield followed by a decision against SIUE, hitting 16 wins this year to tie his career-high.
Matty Bianchi, Stephen Little, and Josiah Hill each took home two individual wins as well today. The younger Bianchi was key to setting the pace for the Trojans to secure the win at every weight from 157 up to heavyweight. He strung together a dominant 18-1 technical fall in his first match, the first of his career, before ending his day with a decision against SIUE. Hill tallied a pair of decisions on the day to finish each dual on a high note.
10 was a magic number for the Trojans. While Brennan picked up his tenth pin, Stephen Little notched his tenth technical fall. Like Wills, his first match was in the first period thanks to a series of tilts. The second match ended in the second period following a series of cuts and takedowns – seven takedowns, to be exact.
Both Little and Nasir Bailey have nine technical falls against D1 opponents, which should rank each of them within the top 10 in the nation. Speaking of Bailey, he took home his 21st victory of the year in his bout versus SIUE, continuing to lead the team in wins.
Two more falls against SIUE came from Jeremiah Reno in a bounce-back bout, while Kodiak Cannedy closed the day with a pin in the extra match.
Coach Erisman noted that the Trojans are in a good spot as they move toward postseason, adding, “I was really happy with both matches. We definitely have some room to improve, but overall it was a great day. A special thank you to our fans for showing up all year.”
Little Rock will travel to Lindenwood to compete in their final dual of the season on Sunday, February 25 at noon. From there, it’s all tournament action for the in March: the Pac-12 Championships and the NCAA Tournament.
#18 Little Rock 37, CSU-Bakersfield 6
125: Richard Castro-Sandoval (CSU-Bakersfield) DEC Jeremiah Reno, 7-5
133: Josh Sarpy DEC Santino Sanchez (CSU-Bakersfield), 4-1
141: Cael Keck win via forfeit
149: Brock Rogers (CSU-Bakersfield) DEC Brennan Van Hoecke, 8-5
157: #31 Matty Bianchi TF Devyn Flores-Che (CSU-Bakersfield), 18-1 (3:10)
165: #24 Joseph Bianchi MD Guillermo Escobedo (CSU-Bakersfield), 14-3
174: #23 Tyler Brennan F Ryder Dearborn (CSU-Bakersfield), 0:48
184: Triston Wills TF Braden Smelser (CSU-Bakersfield), 17-1 (2:27)
197: #9 Stephen Little TF Ryan Arrington (CSU-Bakersfield), 17-1 (2:23)
285: #22 Josiah Hill DEC Jake Andrews (CSU-Bakersfield), 4-2
Extra: Chase Tebbets F Jacob Peralta (CSU-Bakersfield), 1:42
#18 Little Rock 33, SIUE 6
125: Jeremiah Reno F Davian Guanajuato (SIUE), 2:52
133: #7 Nasir Bailey DEC Marcel Lopez (SIUE), 10-5
141: Eric Almarinez (SIUE) DEC Cael Keck, 7-3
149: #20 Caleb Tyus (SIUE) DEC Brennan Van Hoecke, 6-1
157: #31 Matty Bianchi DEC Caine Tyus (SIUE), 6-1
165: #24 Joseph Bianchi MD Bradley Gillum (SIUE), 13-1
174: #23 Tyler Brennan F Dominic Lopez (SIUE), 6:12
184: Triston Wills DEC Deron Pulliam (SIUE), 4-2
197: #9 Stephen Little TF Nick Nosler (SIUE), 21-5 (4:04)
285: #22 Josiah Hill DEC Bryson Buhk (SIUE), 9-4
Extra: Kodiak Cannedy F Hayden Trezek (SIUE), 2:04
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