Almost a full year ago to the day, Cal Poly Wrestling was routed by the University of Northern Colorado 25-9, but the Mustangs turned the tables on Friday, Jan. 12 as they got back at the Bears in a 23-15 dual meet victory right after dominating against American University 39-3 at Mott Athletics Center.
The Mustangs improve to 3-1 in duals on the season in their first home matches in two months as they continue to impress this season after stunning the No. 16 FloWrestling team tournament-ranked Bears (7-2).
American University
Cal Poly handled business against American University with redshirt freshman 125-pounder Dom Mendez starting things off with a convincing 14-2 major decision.
After coming off of a third-place finish in the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, redshirt freshman and No. 13 ranked 133-pounder Zeth Romney brought Mott Athletics Center to their feet with a pin just 24 seconds into his match.
Romney shot up the rankings after that third-place finish in the Midlands but those rankings aren’t what’s important to him.
“It doesn’t matter who I’m wrestling or what I’m ranked just going out there and having fun and letting it fly,” Romney said.
Redshirt sophomore 141-pounder Abe Hinrichsen dropped his match but was picked up by redshirt sophomore and No. 6 ranked 149-pounder Chance Lamer with a 22-4 technical fall over his opponent.
Redshirt junior 157-pounder Legend Lamer followed that up with a pin of his opponent just under two minutes into the match which had Mott Athletics Center rocking which has become a type of “X-factor” for the Mustangs.
“Folks know who our guys are and they show up in droves and it gets loud in Mott [which makes] it a tough place to wrestle,” head coach Jon Sioredas said.
Graduate 165-pounder Michael Goldfeder handled his opponent in a 17-11 decision while freshman 174-pounder Daschle Lamer filled in for injured graduate No. 13 ranked 174-pounder Adam Kemp while he nurses a rib injury, and he did not disappoint as he won a hard-fought 7-1 decision over his opponent.
Kemp’s rib injury was reaggravated in the Ken Kraft Midlands tournament and will hold him out for Sunday’s dual against Air Force, but has a chance to come back next week.
The Mustangs rounded out the dual with three straight wins as they routed American University 39-3.
University of Northern Colorado
After Mendez dropped the opening match of the dual to the No. 3 ranked 125-pounder, Romney and his opponent needed an extra period of wrestling after a defensive battle before Romney finally secured a takedown after setting it up with multiple fakes and showing off his Cal Poly logo to the crowd.
“I think [faking] set up all my attacks pretty much,” Romney said.
Hinrichsen came up empty in his match before Chance Lamer won his match via technical fall to tie up the team score up to eight all.
After back-to-back team losses, Daschle Lamer was down 6-1 in his match before reversing his position and pinning his opponent upside down, which was upheld after review, to keep the Mustangs in the dual 15-14.
Daschle continues his impressive season where Cal Poly is using this year as a redshirt year for him which allows him two more appearances this season, including Sunday’s dual against Air Force.
“Daschle’s the golden boy, man,” Sioredas said. “He’s really fun to coach and he just goes out there with no fear.”
Redshirt sophomore 184-pounder Kendall La Rosa came up big with two early takedowns to secure a 7-2 decision victory to put the Mustangs ahead 17-15.
Redshirt sophomore 197-pounder Jarad Priest escaped his match with a 2-1 decision after his opponent was called for stalling, which gave Priest the lead with 10 seconds left in the match to give Cal Poly a 20-15 cushion.
Redshirt sophomore heavyweight Trevor Tinker put the cherry on top for the Mustangs after a second-period takedown all but decided his 8-2 victory, which brought the Mott crowd to their feet to finish out the 23-15 victory and go 2-0 on the day.
“This is the most fun I’ve had personally in maybe my entire coaching career,” Sioredas said. “We just have a group of guys that are committed to getting better.”
The Mustangs will face another tough opponent in their next dual when they take on the No. 15 ranked tournament team in Air Force on Sunday, Jan. 14 at 1 p.m. in Mott Athletics Center.
