After coming off of two impressive wins against American University and the University of Northern Colorado on Friday, Cal Poly continued to make noise on Sunday, Jan. 14 after taking down the No. 15 ranked tournament team in FloWrestling’s rankings in Air Force, 23-17 at Mott Athletics Center.
The Mustangs now improve to 4-1 in dual meets on the season and got some revenge in the process after the Falcons (2-4) beat Cal Poly a season ago 22-12.
Grinding Out Victories
Redshirt freshman 125-pounder Dom Mendez started things off with a 16-5 major decision over the No. 33 ranked 125-pounder while No. 13 ranked 133-pound redshirt freshman Zeth Romney dominated his opponent en route to a 17-1 technical fall.
After redshirt sophomore Abe Hinrichsen dropped his match, No. 6 ranked 149-pounder Chance Lamer grinded out a tough 17-9 win over his opponent after the match was stopped multiple times due to a bloody nose from his opponent.
“I just tried to take a couple of deep breaths, and just focus on wrestling which I feel like I could’ve done a better job of,” Lamer said.
No. 31 ranked redshirt junior Legend Lamer dominated his match en route to the 16-0 technical fall which brought Mott Athletics Center to their feet.
Graduate 165-pounder Michael Goldfeder fell via technical fall to the No. 14 ranked wrestler in his weight class before freshman Daschle Lamer finished out the weekend with a perfect 3-0 record thanks to a clutch takedown to secure his 6-0 decision win.
Daschle once again filled in for No. 13 ranked 174-pounder Adam Kemp who has a chance to return next week.
At this point in the match, Cal Poly had a nice 21-8 team lead, but things became tense once redshirt sophomore 184-pounder Kendall La Rosa took the mat against the No. 6 ranked wrestler in his weight class.
In the third period, down 4-2, La Rosa nearly completed a single leg takedown that was ultimately reversed by his opponent to secure a takedown of his own to essentially seal the match with a 7-3 score with seconds remaining, while the Mustangs were deducted one team point after head coach Jon Sioredas stepped onto the mat during the match.
Redshirt sophomore 197-pounder Jarad Priest now had the task to secure the team win for Cal Poly and he did exactly that as he gained momentum with a reversal in the second period to help secure his 6-3 decision and the team victory which had Mott Athletics Center rocking once again.
“There’s a lot of our alumni that are hooting and hollering and getting pretty passionate and it makes for a fun environment,” Sioredas said.
Redshirt sophomore heavyweight Cole Jackson wrestled in place of redshirt sophomore Trevor Tinker as he’s been dealing with nagging injuries and is being eased back into matches as he prepares for conference play.
Jackson was pinned by the No. 2 ranked heavyweight in the nation just 40 seconds into the match, but it was too little too late as the Mustangs finished off a 23-17 victory over their second Big 12 opponent this weekend.
Weekend in Review
Cal Poly didn’t necessarily wrestle to the best of their potential on Sunday, a sentiment shared by Sioredas, but they finished the weekend out with a perfect 3-0 record and have plenty of momentum going into Pac-12 play.
“There’s another step for us no doubt about it,” Sioredas said.
Romney, Priest and Daschle and Chance Lamer won all three of their matches this weekend and with conference realignment looming, might have proved they belong in a conference like the Big 12.
“This is the first time we’ve been able to put nine or ten of our best guys in our lineup,” Sioredas said. “When we do that I think we can give people fits like you saw this weekend.”
The Mustangs will look ahead to next week as they prepare to defend their Pac-12 title when they travel to take on the Oregon State Beavers on Friday, Jan. 19 at 6 p.m.
