LIVE: Cal Poly Wrestling Pac-12 Championships

Three Cal Poly wrestlers win Pac-12 titles, four wrestlers advance to NCAA Championships

Each ranked wrestler within the Cal Poly Wrestling program captured a title within their respective weight classes. No. 19 Koda Holeman, No. 16 Caesar Garza and No. 22 Trevor Tinker each won their bouts by a margin of one point.

Tinker is the only wrestler of the trio to have multiple Pac-12 Championships under his belt, with the victory putting him at two conference heavyweight championships.

Garza, in his Pac-12 Championships debut, cemented his undefeated status within conference play and captured the program’s second-ever conference title at 184 pounds.

Holeman, in a rematch of last year’s championship match against familiar rival Maximo Renteria, bested his opponent by landing a clutch takedown with 17 seconds remaining in the third period.

All three wrestlers will advance to the NCAA Championships.

Despite losing his championship match, Andre Gonzales also secured a spot within the NCAA Championships at 149 pounds. The 149-pound weight class is one of just three weight classes in which the top two finishers advanced to the NCAA Championships.

No. 22 Trevor Tinker successfully defends Pac-12 heavyweight title

7:49 p.m. No. 22 Trevor Tinker successfully defended his Pac-12 heavyweight title in a narrow 1-0 victory by decision over Little Rock’s No. 30, Michael Gasper, the top seed in the tournament. This is Cal Poly’s second straight title match victory within the tournament in which neither side were able to secure a takedown.

Tinker’s lone escape in the second period proved to be the difference-maker within the bout. Following Tinker’s point, Gasper was forced to move into an offensive mindset. Tinker’s length, combined with his agility, however, made it near-impossible for Gasper to grab ahold of the reigning heavyweight champion.

With the victory, Tinker will make his fourth consecutive NCAA Wrestling Championships appearance.

No. 16 Caesar Garza captures first career Pac-12 Championship at 184 in tournament debut

7:39 p.m. No. 16 Caesar Garza, in his first Pac-12 Championship, captured the title at 184 pounds in a contest that did not feature a single takedown. Garza and his opponent, Oregon State’s TJ McDonnell, remained in a tight scrum through the duration of the bout but were unable to force one another to the ground.

Both wrestlers gained one point apiece through escapes, with the ranked Mustang obtaining an advantage via an illegal cutback move by McDonnell.

With the victory, Garza officially remained undefeated in Pac-12 play throughout the season, and compiled a 3-0 record on McDonnell over the course of the year.

Garza’s title stands as the second 184-pound championship in program history, and Cal Poly’s first title victory since 2013.

With the victory, Garza will advance forward and make his first-ever NCAA Wrestling Championships appearance.

Anthony Berg falls just short of capturing the 165-pound Pac-12 Championship

7:18 p.m. In a match that did not see a takedown past the first period of action, Anthony Berg fell to Oregon State’s No. 23 Matthew Olguin in an 8-3 contest.

Berg, whose three points came from three escapes, struggled to find his footing throughout the bout and was unable to maintain his grasp on his ranked counterpart.

The redshirt freshman was forced to remain on the attack throughout the match after he fell behind 3-0 in just over a minute of match time. An inability to grasp onto Olguin’s legs proved to be a significant factor as to how Berg was unable to formulate an offensive response through the match.

Andre Gonzales misses out on upset, places second at 149 pounds

6:50 p.m. In a tightly contested match, Andre Gonzales was unable to obtain his second upset of the Pac-12 Championships and fell to Little Rock’s No. 18 Brock Herman, the top seed of the tournament’s 149-pound class.

Gonzales had managed to keep pace with Herman through the three frames of action but the top seed consistently kept the third-seeded wrestler just out of arm’s reach, maintaining the lead throughout the entire bout.

The graduate student had managed to use two escapes and a last-second takedown to cut Herman’s lead within two points but time expired before Gonzales could complete his attempted comeback.

Regardless of the loss, Gonzales has already reserved his spot at the NCAA Championships, and will compete in Cleveland beginning on March 19.

No. 19 Koda Holeman captures first career Pac-12 Championship at 125 pounds

6:14 p.m. No. 19 Koda Holeman captured his first career Pac-12 title in a narrow 5-4 victory over reigning Pac-12 champion Maximo Renteria.

Holeman used two escapes and a clutch takedown with 17 seconds left in the third period to claw his way to a one-point lead over his Oregon State counterpart.

The bout came down to the waning seconds of the clock; Renteria needed an escape from Holeman’s clutches in the final 17 seconds but was unable to break free of the grasp of the redshirt junior.

Holeman’s victory snaps a two-match losing streak against Renteria, one loss which included the final round of the previous year’s Pac-12 Championships in Coravallis, Oregon.

This is Cal Poly’s first Pac-12 Champion at 125 pounds since wrestler Chad Mendes topped the conference in 2006.

Five Cal Poly Wrestlers will compete in the final round of the Pac-12 Wrestling Championships

5:53 p.m. The championship round of the Pac-12 Wrestling Championships is set to commence at 6 p.m. this evening. Five of Cal Poly’s wrestlers advanced to the second round following victories at their respective weights in the preliminary matches.

No. 19 Koda Holeman will lead the charge at the 125 pounds against No. 8 Maximo Renteria, the top-seeded wrestler in the conference at his class. Holeman is seeking vengeance after having lost the previous year’s championship round to Renteria, 14-7.

165 pound wrestler Anthony Berg will look to build upon his impressive showing in the opening round, in which he upset No. 5 Matty Bianchi of Little Rock to advance in the tournament. Berg will have to take down Oregon State’s No. 23, Matthew Olguin, to advance to the NCAA Wrestling Championships.

No. 16 Caesar Garza is the favorite to win the 184-pound weight class after going undefeated in Pac-12 play. Garza will have to beat Oregon State’s TJ McDonnell in order to claim the title of Pac-12 Champion. He has faced McDonnell twice this season, and has won by decision in both matches.

In the third-place matches, Cash Stewart, Jagger French and Cole Jackson all overcame their opponents to place third within the Pac-12.

Reigning Pac-12 Champion Trevor Tinker maintains his conference dominance

3: 45 p.m. Even with a lingering injury and questions about the graduate’s return, Trevor Tinker left no doubts regarding his capabilities on the mat.

As the No. 2 seed in the heavyweight bracket, Tinker took the first step towards defending his title with a 17-2 technical fall victory over No. 3 Khale McDonnell. 

Tinker had previously been out with injury during Cal Poly’s dual against the Oregon State wrestler, but the bout served as a strong return showing to the mat for the heavyweight champion.

The graduate will face off for his title defense against Little Rock’s No. 1 seed Michael Gasper.

Cal Poly falls in the 197-pound opening round

3:24 p.m. Even as the No. 3 seed in the conference, graduate Cole Jackson had to face off against the No. 4 ranked wrestler in the country at 197 pounds in his opening round.

Stephen Little of Little Rock finished the bout late in the second period, winning by a 19-4 margin to move to the title match. Jackson’s tournament continues later this evening against Cal State Bakersfield’s No. 4 seed Chris Neal.

Garza cruises to the 184-pound championship round with 17-1 win

3:10 p.m. No. 16 in the country, the favorite for the 184-pound Pac-12 title, Ceasar Garza is Cal Poly’s highest ranked wrestler and a known quantity at this years Pac-12 Championships.

When Garza gets on the mat, things usually turn up the way of the Mustangs. His first-round bout against Cal State Bakersfield’s Jeremy Manibog follow the familiar pattern, as Garza dominated his way to a 17-1 technical fall victory.

The redshirt junior is still undefeated in Pac-12 play in 2026, and will continue his run to the 184-pound title that has so far gone uncontested. Garza will face reigning Pac-12 champion No. 2 TJ McDonnell for another Cal Poly/Oregon State title bout.

Garza is 2-0 in bouts against McDonnell so far this season.

Mustang momentum halted at 174 pounds, Little Rock triumphs 7-2

2:50 p.m. Redshirt junior and No. 3 seed Cash Stewart found his footing hard to hold through his preliminary match, taking a 7-2 defeat to No. 2 Gunner Holland.

Stewart faces No. 4 seed Guillermo Escobedo in the final round of the 174 pound bracket later tonight.

Mustang freshman Anthony Berg takes down the No. 5 ranked 165-pounder in the nation to advance to championship round

2:30 p.m. From the No. 4 seed, redshirt freshman Anthony Berg had everything to prove as he faced off against one of the best 165-pound wrestlers in the nation.

Time ticked down in the third period, and through pure will and dominant skill, Berg held his 7-3 advantage over No. 5 ranked Matty Bianchi. The Little Rock powerhouse fought back, netting a takedown with 10 seconds left, but Berg prevailed.

The challenge block came in from the Little Rock bench, but the replays proved just one thing, Anthony Berg had won.

Bianchi was 17-1 coming into the bout. Berg handed the division favorite and reigning Pac-12 champion and 2025 All-American his second loss of the year and stamped his spot in the championship round.

Berg added on to make his record 15-8 and he will face the No. 2 seed, Oregon State’s No. 23 Matthew Olguin, in the championship round.

Cal Poly falls in first overtime bout of the Pac-12 Championships

2:18 p.m. Redshirt freshman Jagger French had a fiery approach to the first Pac-12 championship bout of his career, but when the overtime period came around, his time ran out. 

No. 2 seed French fell 8-5 to No. 3 seed CJ Hamblin from Oregon State. French will finish out his Pac-12 championships later this evening against No. 4 seed Devyn Flores-Che.

A thrilling victory at 149 pounds secures Cal Poly’s Andre Gonzales a spot in the Pac-12 championship round

1:54 p.m. A graduate transfer from Ohio State, 149-pounder Andre Gonzales entered the matchup as the No. 3 seed, an underdog on paper. But the seedings didn’t tell the whole story.

Gonzales faced off against another opponent from Oregon State, redshirt junior No. 2 seed No. 24 Noah Tolentino. Despite coming into the bout with the lower seed, Gonzales had won his previous matchup against the Beaver wrestler in February of this year.

Going back-and-forth, both Gonzales and Tolentino found themselves in a mad scramble for position in all three periods of their high-intensity fight. Working with an early advantage, Gonzales held his ground, finishing the matchup emphatically with a 4-1 victory.

Mott Athletics Center came alive as the final horn sounded on the first upset of the afternoon. Gonzales will face Little Rock’s No. 1 seeded Brock Herman for the 149-pound title.

The Mustangs falter as the squad’s 133-pound and 141-pound wrestlers fall in the preliminary round

1:30 p.m. Both facing off against Oregon State opponents, both Cal Poly No. 4 seeds at 133 pounds and 141 pounds took major decision losses in the opener round of the Pac-12 championships.

Redshirt freshman Anthony Lucio faced off against 133-pound division favorite and No. 1 seed Gabe Whisenhunt, ultimately falling 10-1 in the pair’s first bout of the year.

Alek VenBebber stepped in at 141 pounds for the Mustangs, fighting through an early injury scare in the first-round matchup. Nash Singleton held Cal Poly’s redshirt freshman scoreless in the bout, earning an 11-0 major decision and a spot in the championship matchup later this evening.

Cal Poly opens Pac-12 Championship with victory at 125 pounds

1 p.m. No. 19 Koda Holeman entered the 125-pound bout as the No. 2 seed favorite, defeating No. 3 seeded Richard Castro-Sandoval of Cal State Bakersfield 10-4.

Holeman moves on to face a familiar face in his No.1 seeded rival Maximo Renteria. Renteria ranks No. 8 nationally heading into the Pac-12 championships, earning a 15-5 victory against Tyson roach in the preliminary round.

Renteria defeated Holeman 13-6 in the Cal Poly vs. Oregon State dual earlier this season, continuing a long run of bouts dating back to when the two faced off in a high school rivalry matchup featuring Clovis and Buchanan High in Central California.

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Cal Poly hosts Pac-12 Wrestling Championships for the first time in 21 years

12:30 p.m. Three nationally ranked wrestlers lead Cal Poly’s battle to defend its home mat in the Pac-12 Conference Championships.

Leading the way at 125 pounds, No. 19 Koda Holeman will start off Cal Poly’s action on the mat against No. 3 seeded Richard Castro-Sandoval of Cal State Bakersfield.

No. 16 Ceasar Garza is Cal Poly’s highest ranked wrestler and the favorite to take the 184-pound Pac-12 title. As a redshirt junior, Garza has not lost in conference matchups this season, and begins the preliminary rounds as the No. 1 seed in his weight class.

Cal Poly’s final favorite to win is redshirt senior No. 22 Trevor Tinker, the reigning Pac-12 heavyweight champion and the No. 2 seed in his bracket. He will face off against Oregon State’s Khale McDonnell in the No. 3 seed in the final matchups of the preliminary round.

Stay tuned for live updates through the preliminary and championship rounds. Brackets for the championships are live here.