Just outside the Orfalea College of Business building, the smell of barbecue and the sound of hundreds of Cal Poly wrestling fans and alumni filled the air for their dual against No. 14 Stanford.
The Mustangs (0-2) hosted the Cardinal (4-1) in the outdoor dual as part of their Alumni and Supporters Weekend, which has run throughout the last two days and has featured a golf fundraiser and alumni dinner for wrestlers from Cal Poly’s storied past to enjoy.
The Cal Poly wrestling community showed out, as the lively Mustang crowd cheered on the Green and Gold during their tough matchup against Stanford.
“We’re like a quilt that’s always going to stay together,” Cal Poly wrestling alumni Anthony Romero said. “For me, this is a big part of my life and I will always support Cal Poly and Cal Poly wrestling.”
After a Stanford forfeit at 125 pounds, No. 9 redshirt junior Chance Lamer’s 5-1 decision over No. 10 Jaden Abas at 149 pounds and No. 21 Luka Wick’s 10-4 decision over Zach Hanson at 165 were the only individual victories of the afternoon for the Mustangs.
Despite the tough outing on the mat, the community’s support helped Cal Poly’s wrestlers fight through each period.
“You know, one of the alumni today said you’re best when you’re having fun,” Wick said. “I actually winked to the coaches in the middle of the match and that did make it a little bit lighter for me.”
Two of Cal Poly’s top-ranked wrestlers also fought a close match. A technical battle at 133 pounds between redshirt sophomore Zeth Romney, ranked No. 13, and the Cardinal’s No. 12 ranked Tyler Knox, ended in a 5-3 decision favoring Stanford.
No. 19 redshirt junior Trevor Tinker was also up 15-3 in his bout before taking a fall in the last period of his matchup.
The outdoor event capped off an eventful weekend for the program. The events and high-profile outdoor matchups were the perfect way to reconnect with alumni and raise awareness for the program.
“I like that part of my job, just getting to meet a lot of our alumni and spend a little bit of time with them,” head coach Jon Sioredas said. “Hopefully, we’ll have a little bit better showing but I know they’re behind us either way.”
Cal Poly’s next action will be the Roadrunner Open—hosted by Cal State Bakersfield—on Sunday, Nov. 24.
The Mustangs will send down part of their starting roster to the all-day event, which will be the program’s last bouts before the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 6 and 7.
