Arkansas Wrestle
(All images via lrtrojans.com)
LITTLE ROCK – A record-breaking crowd of 2,143 wrestling fans helped the Trojans wrap up their home dual season this afternoon as #16 Little Rock hosted #2 Oklahoma State. While Little Rock fell 25-13 to the Cowboys, the Trojans took away bonus points and an upset win from Matty Bianchi to contrast the last time that Oklahoma State stepped foot in the Jack Stephens Center.
The last time that the Cowboys were in Little Rock, the visitors walked away with a commanding 29-point lead, as the Trojans only scored six points in 2022. This time around, there was a dog fight.
“It’s just two completely different teams,” said head coach Neil Erisman. “Our guys didn’t just stay in the fight. There were moments that they could’ve laid down, and they didn’t. They found a way and really made a positive situation about it. I think today we took another step in our program history. The expectations are different. We didn’t just go out to compete, we went out to win, and we believed it.”
Nasir Bailey put Little Rock on the board first at 133 pounds in a heavily controlled match over Oklahoma State’s #22 Witcraft. The sophomore exploded out the gates in the first period with a takedown and tilt, going up 5-0 in the first 40 seconds. He only expanded his lead, not giving up a single point against his Cowboy opponent to collect bonus points for the team.
The most nail-biting match of the day went to Jordan Williams, who fought his former roommate all the way to tiebreakers. After a 1-1 score with no offensive points throughout three periods and overtime, the transfer escaped, showed off a huge mat return, and earned the riding time point in tiebreakers to come away with the win against his previous team.
But the highlight of the day went to Matty Bianchi, who walked away with his first pin of the season against #12 Fish. After a slower start and a hard ride by his opponent, Matty found a way to power through on top, tilt and secure a headlock to a pin in the third period, giving Little Rock the 13-12 lead against Oklahoma State in front of a loud home crowd.
While the next five bouts didn’t go our way, the unsung heroes of the day were the guys that held their matches to decisions instead of giving the Cowboys extra ammo and bonus points. Brennan Van Hoecke fought the #5 wrestler in the country, only falling 8-2, while Joseph Bianchi and Tyler Brennan only allowed decisions as well against top 10 opponents.
Little Rock wrestling will now hit the road for their final three duals of the season next week, traveling to California for matches against Pac-12 opponents Cal Poly and CSU-Bakersfield as well as North Dakota State.
Box Score (Oklahoma State 25, Little Rock 13)
125: #4 Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State) over Jayden Carson (Little Rock) (TF 18-1 4:11)
133: #8 Nasir Bailey (Little Rock) over #22 Reece Witcraft (Oklahoma State) (MD 12-0)
141: #5 Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State) over Brennan Van Hoecke (Little Rock) (Dec 8-2)
149: #12 Jordan Williams (Little Rock) over #17 Carter Young (Oklahoma State) (TB-1 3-2)
157: #14 Matty Bianchi (Little Rock) over #12 Caleb Fish (Oklahoma State) (Fall 5:26)
165: #6 Cameron Amine (Oklahoma State) over #33 Joseph Bianchi (Little Rock) (Dec 4-2)
174: #3 Dean Hamiti (Oklahoma State) over Tyler Brennan (Little Rock) (Dec 6-1)
184: #3 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) over #17 Brock DelSignore (Little Rock) (Dec 7-2)
197: #7 Luke Surber (Oklahoma State) over #5 Stephen Little (Little Rock) (Dec 5-4)
285: #3 Wyatt Hendrickson (Oklahoma State) over KJ Miley (Little Rock) (TF 16-1 2:30)
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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