After back-to-back Cal Poly pins, graduate 165-pounder Michael Goldfeder stepped onto the mat looking to get his season back on track and increase the Mustang lead.
The North Carolina transfer had a 2-10 record on the season entering this dual and ultimately fell via a 2-1 decision. While it might not have looked pretty, the entire Cal Poly bench was on their feet the entire third period, showing support for their teammate.
“They see a guy who’s going out there and leveling up based on his effort and he’s getting close,” head coach Jon Sioredas said.
That comradery has been a huge aspect that has driven success for the Mustangs this entire season, and it showed in their 43-3 win on Sunday, Jan. 21 at Mott Athletics Center.
Taking Care of Business
After falling to the No. 16 ranked Oregon State Beavers on Friday, Cal Poly (5-2, 1-1 Pac-12) bounced back in a huge way against the Roadrunners (0-7, 0-3 Pac-12) while dominating in every facet.
The 165-pound match was the only one CSU Bakersfield would win, as the Mustangs would win every other match by almost every outcome you could think of.
Redshirt freshman and No. 32 ranked 125-pounder Dom Mendez came out with first win for Cal Poly in a 4-1 decision victory.
That was followed by the seventh straight win from redshirt freshman and No. 9 ranked 133-pounder Zeth Romney via fall just under two minutes of the first period.
Redshirt sophomore 141-pounder Abe Hinrichsen pulled out the 7-4 decision before redshirt sophomore and No. 5 ranked 149-pounder and redshirt junior and No. 32 ranked 157-pounder Chance and Legend Lamer pulled off back-to-back first period falls over their opponents.
Freshman and the Abe’s younger brother, 174-pounder Blake Hinrichsen filled in for the injured graduate No. 10 ranked Adam Kemp and dominated his opponent with takedown after takedown en route to his 22-5 technical fall.
“It’s a nice chance to highlight and show off a little bit of the work they’ve been putting in throughout the year,” Sioredas said. “That’s just a little taste of the future of Mustang wrestling.”
Redshirt sophomore 184-pounder Kendall La Rosa was awarded the win after the Roadrunners forfeited that match.
Redshirt sophomore 197-pounder Jarad Priest dominated his opponent to earn the 16-0 technical fall seconds before the first period clock expired before redshirt sophomore and No. 24 heavyweight Trevor Tinker made out with a 5-0 decision victory to cap off the 43-3 route.
“I think there were more points for me to score but at the end of the day, I got the job done,” Tinker said.
Having the Right Mindset
Something Sioredas has really emphasized this season is getting better not only physically, but mentally as well.
They’ve even brought in a mindset coach to help the team in that aspect and have shown this season that it pays dividends, especially with someone like Tinker, who has to wait the entire meet to wrestle his opponent, which might or might not decide whether the Mustangs win the dual.
“It’s kind of hard not to see the scoreboard…last year we had four duals come down to my match,” Tinker said. “But whatever the score is, I have to go out and do what I plan on doing.”
Despite the team loss against Oregon State, Cal Poly didn’t necessarily treat it as a loss as they looked beyond just the surface-level numbers in the wins and losses columns. They know a lot of their wrestlers showed big improvements from earlier in the season and even from a week ago.
“We’re more reactive and responsive to our output and based on our effort,” Sioredas said. “If you would’ve walked into our locker room [in Oregon] you wouldn’t have known if we had won or lost.”
The Mustangs will look to keep that same mindset after their week off before traveling to Arkansas to continue Pac-12 play against Little Rock on Saturday, Feb. 3, at 12 p.m. at Jack Stephens Center.
