After falling to No. 14 Stanford last weekend, Cal Poly wrestling used that loss as fuel to capture the team title at the Roadrunner Open on Sunday behind three individual champions.
Although only a few of their starters wrestled, the Mustangs had an impressive day on the mats in Bakersfield.
With 26 wrestlers competing, the Mustangs beat out 20 other teams in the all-day wrestling tournament. They finished with 92 points, while second-place Oklahoma had 64.
The Mustangs who secured individual titles for their respective weight classes were 197-pound redshirt junior Jarad Priest, 165-pound redshirt sophomore Cash Stewart, and redshirt freshman Daschle Lamer at 184 pounds.
Lamer secured his second consecutive individual title at the tournament. Last year, he won the 174-pound title. This year, he moved up ten pounds into a new class and went 3-0 on his way to first place.
He secured a pin and then a technical fall in the first two rounds. In the title match, he got some revenge on the Cardinal, beating out Stanford’s Cole Han-Lindemyer by a 14-11 decision.
Daschle, the youngest of the three Lamer brothers, improved to 5-4 on the season.
At 165 pounds, Stewart went 4-0 on his way to the title. He won his first bout of the day by fall, following that up with three victories by decision. In the championship match, he won 6-1 to improve to 5-2 on the year.
Priest captured the 197-pound title with three victories, improving his season record to 4-5. Wrestling in his hometown, the Bakersfield native secured a technical fall in the opening round, a 4-1 decision in the second round and a 7-5 decision for the title.
Redshirt junior Trevor Tinker (285 pounds), redshirt sophomore Koda Holeman (125 pounds) and redshirt freshman Blake Hinrichsen (174 pounds) all went 3-1 and grabbed second-place finishes on Sunday in their weight classes.
Tinker, the No. 25 ranked heavyweight, fell to No. 33 Jake Andrews of Bakersfield in the title match. It was an 8-1 decision.
Other wrestlers that competed at the Roadrunner Open included redshirt junior Josh Harkey (197 pounds), redshirt freshman Devin Alexander (157 pounds) and freshman Alek VanBebber (141 pounds).
After losing his first match, Harkey won four straight to secure third overall. Alexander and VanBebber both finished in fourth place.
Next up, the Mustangs will head to Las Vegas to compete in the 42nd annual Cliff Keen Invitational on Dec. 6-7. The match will be held inside the Las Vegas Convention Center.