For the first time in the dawning days of 2026, mats were placed in center court of the Mott Athletics Center on Saturday night to ring in Cal Poly Wrestling’s first dual of the new year.
Coming off a strong performance at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, the Mustangs (3-2, 1-0 Pac-12) continued their winning ways and triumphed over Duke University 28-16, building off of the momentum that had been generated in late December.
Cal Poly was sporting an almost entirely different lineup to kick off 2026. Injuries and illnesses had befallen several key wrestlers typically in the lineup, with redshirt junior Zeth Romney – the highest-ranked Mustang in his weight class at No. 15 for 141 pounds – and graduate student Trevor Tinker – ranked No. 24 for 285 pounds – being the most notable absentees.
With injuries forcing key wrestlers out of the lineup, a “next man up” mentality has blossomed within the Mustangs; a development of which Head Coach Jon Sioredas has embraced.
“We’ve had a couple of injuries and a little bit of sickness that have forced us to shuffle guys in and out,” Sioredas said. “We have a lot of new faces and the coolest part about that is that we’ve got a little bit of depth now. The guys, when they get their opportunity, are really showing up and wrestling hard.”
New year, same Mustangs
Despite the change in the lineup, Cal Poly looked stronger than ever in their home dual with the Blue Devils. Positive results are something the Mustangs have most recently become familiar with during the season.
Prior to the dual with the Blue Devils, the Mustangs competed in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and secured 56.5 points at the tournament, enough to nab ninth place out of 30 scored teams in the tournament. The placement was the Mustangs’ best in the tournament in 16 years.
Following Cliff Keen, Cal Poly found themselves in duals with Drexel and California Baptist. After falling to Drexel, the Mustangs bounced back and handedly defeated Cal Baptist 26-15.
Just over a week later, Cal Poly produced strong results at the Midlands Championship, earning a program-record team finish of fourth, due to a program-record six wrestlers who placed within their weight classes.
The top Mustang performer at Midlands was redshirt junior Koda Holeman, who placed third in his weight class of 125 pounds. He is one of five nationally ranked wrestlers at Cal Poly, ranking 18th in his class.
Coming into Saturday night’s match, Holeman boasted a 4-0 record in duals. Holeman’s match was the quickest of the night, defeating his opponent by technical fall in three minutes and thirty-eight seconds. He finished with five takedowns and one near fall.
At 184 pounds, redshirt junior Caesar Garza was another standout for the Mustangs. Ranked 22nd in his class, the Michigan State transfer gained control of the match early into the bout and never eased up.
Garza was the only other Cal Poly wrestler to record five takedowns in his respective dual, piling on a reversal to win his match by technical fall in a 21-5 rout. Garza remains undefeated in duals in his first season as a Mustang.
Redshirt freshman Anthony Berg was the third Mustang to win his bout by technical fall.
Riding the momentum of a sixth-place finish at Midlands, the 157-pounder utilized four takedowns, a near fall and an extra point earned through riding time to put five points on the board for Cal Poly.
Freshman Leo Macias made his dual debut on Saturday. At 133 pounds, Macias utilized a pair of takedowns and a near fall worth four points to win 13-9 and earn the Mustangs’ only major decision of the match.
Redshirt junior Wesley Wilson scrapped his way to Cal Poly’s only win by decision in the match. Going into the third period down 8-9, Wilson prevented his opponent from scoring further while securing a takedown and a two-point near fall to secure the victory, 13-9.
The Pac-12: Round two
Having wrestled their first conference opponent nearly two months prior, Cal Poly will face Oregon State in their second conference dual of the season.
Oregon State is arguably the toughest opponent on Cal Poly’s schedule within the conference. The Beavers are the only Pac-12 team to be ranked nationally, seeded as the 25th-best team in the nation.
In addition, four Beavers are ranked within the top 25 within their weight class.
Despite the challenge, the Mustangs remain focused on winning through consistent improvement.
“We’re doing a good job right now, and I think we’re sitting in a good spot,” Garza said. “But the important thing is that we have to keep improving; we have to keep believing and acting in a way that we’re gonna pan out right and next week, and then every week, keep getting better and better.”