Corvallis, Ore. – The Pac-12 Championship semifinal matches have come to a close, and Cal Poly will be well-represented in the finals after the first round of bouts.
Five Mustangs won their individual matches, with No. 2 seeds Zeth Romney at 133 pounds and Chance Lamer at 149 pounds securing bids to the NCAA championships.
“I think our effort’s been outstanding,” Head Coach Jon Sioredas said. “We’re continuing to get better as the season goes along, and we just gotta keep it going.”
Multiple matches gave Mustangs a shot at redemption, including No. 3 seed redshirt junior Luka Wick at 165 pounds.
He scored a dramatic pin over Oregon State’s No. 2 seed Kekana Fouret in a revenge match for Wick, who lost to Fouret in dual meets back on Feb. 7.
Earlier in the day, No. 1 seed 125-pounder Koda Holeman found similar success, earning a 16-2 major decision win over Little Rock’s Jayden Carson.
In his final match, Holeman will have a rematch with No. 13 Maximo Rentaria, who Holeman beat in a 4-1 decision the last time they faced off.
He still comes into the match as an underdog, ranked No. 30 at 125 pounds.
Holeman and Renteria are hometown rivals, from Clovis and Buchanan respectively, and the finals matchup will be a culmination of a career-long rivalry of competition.
No. 2 seed Romney also looked sharp in his first match, cruising by No. 3 seed Damion Elliott in a 15-7 major decision.
Romney will also face a familiar opponent, with No. 1 seed Nasir Bailey winning his semifinal match as well. In their last matchup, Bailey got the best of Romney by way of a 4-1 decision.
Romney will be looking for the spark from when he landed a pin on Bailey at NWCA National Duals back in January.
Both Chance Lamer and Legend Lamer took surprising losses and were relegated to the third-place matches, where they each won by technical fall.
The 149 pound weight class has three NCAA qualifier spots, so Chance secured his spot at the NCAA tournament.
No. 3 seed 184-pounder Daschle Lamer, the youngest of the three, won his match decisively and will face No. 4 seed Timothy McDonnell for the title.
No. 2 seed heavyweight Trevor Tinker capped off the semifinal round with a signature performance, dominating all the way through for an 11-0 major decision over No. 3 seed Brett Mower.
Tinker has now won 11 straight matches, and will put his streak on the line in the 285 pound title match against No. 1 seed Jake Andrews.
For live updates on title matches starting at 6 p.m., follow Mustang News Sports on Instagram, X and check the live blog on the website.
