Arkansas Wrestle
(All images via lrtrojans.com)
LITTLE ROCK – The #17 nationally ranked Little Rock wrestling team hits the road for their final dual of the season this Sunday, February 25 at Lindenwood. The match kicks off at noon and will also be the Lindenwood wrestling program’s last dual, as the team will be eliminated by their university following this season, along with several other sports.
For those unable to make it, the dual will be streamed on ESPN+.
Coaches Corner
“It’s the last dual of the season, so we’re expecting the guys to have great energy and score a lot of points,” said head coach Neil Erisman. “Should be a great last test and get us going in the right direction for the Pac-12 Tournament.”
If the Trojans win tomorrow, it will give them 15 dual team wins on the season, effectively tripling the amount that they won last season. The trials and triumphs this season should be exactly what Little Rock needs to go into postseason hot.
Closing Out a Historic Dual Season
Winning four out of five conference dual meets and coming out on top in tiebreakers, the Trojans became the Pac-12 Conference victors in duals for the 2023-24 season this past weekend. Read the full release on their achievement here.
The Trojans took out formerly ranked #16 Oregon State, #24 Arizona State, and now #23 Cal Poly over the past three weeks of competition. Their win over Cal Poly was their widest margin of victory yet, taking the dual 21-12. Before this season, the only conference opponent that Little Rock wrestling had defeated was CSU-Bakersfield. This year, they went 4-1, dropping only one dual to Stanford. Stanford finished with a 3-2 record, falling to both Arizona State and Oregon State this weekend. While the Sun Devils also finished 4-1, their sole loss was to the Trojans, putting Little Rock on top of the Pac-12.
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 program-high seven Little Rock wrestlers ranked simultaneously in the first and second Coaches Rankings: Nasir Bailey, Joseph Bianchi, Matty Bianchi, Tyler Brennan, Stephen Little, Josiah Hill, and Triston Wills.
Bailey currently ranks fifth in the nation with nine technical falls over D1 opponents. Both he and Little only have two losses on the season, respectively, as the pair both rank within the top 10 in the nation according to InterMat’s weekly poll. Three Trojans in Joseph Bianchi, Tyler Brennanand Josiah Hill are just outside the top 20, while Matty Bianchi checks in within the top 33, which is the number of wrestlers per weight class that will advance to the NCAA Tournament.
#17 Little Rock Probables
125: Jeremiah Reno
133: #6 Nasir Bailey
141: Cael Keck
149: Kyle Dutton
157: #31 Matty Bianchi
165: #23 Joey Bianchi
174: #23 Tyler Brennan
184: Triston Wills
197: #8 Stephen Little
285: #22 Josiah Hill
Lindenwood Probables
125: Austin Kegley
133: Caiden Pelc
141: Ben Bohr
149: Cruz Lara
157: Undecided
165: Logan Johnson
174: Kaden Charboneau
184: Luke Shaver
197: Ryan Golnick
285: David Hernandez
*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.
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