Cal Poly wrestling has six ranked wrestlers and a strong case for titles at multiple weights entering this Thursday’s Pac-12 championships in Corvallis, Oregon.
The Mustangs ended their season with a 5-9 dual record, but with a strong tournament team and a record of individual success this season, Cal Poly is fighting for titles at several weights.
The team features a daunting tournament lineup that will face off against Oregon State and No. 15 Little Rock, who beat Cal Poly in duals earlier this year, and Cal State Bakersfield.
“Duals are always going to be a challenge for teams like us particularly, being a smaller program,” Head Coach Jon Sioredas said. “But we have some star power. We have a really strong tournament team.”
Cal Poly finished the season with a 23-20 win over Pac-12 opponent Cal State Bakersfield, and went 1-2 overall in conference play.
The Mustangs lost their conference matchups against Little Rock and Oregon State but had multiple strong performances from Mustang wrestlers in the Pac-12 championship preview.
Cal Poly has faced off against Little Rock twice this year.
They first met at the NWCA National Duals, where the Mustangs fell short in a 19-22 defeat. Their second matchup also went the Trojans’ way, 14-25.
Cal Poly also lost 12-23 against Oregon State in February, but throughout the year, Cal Poly has found success on the individual front against their Pac-12 opponents.
Individual Success
Ranked No. 30 at 125 pounds, sophomore Koda Holeman opened the match against the Beavers with an overtime victory against No. 13 Maximo Renteria. Holeman will face off against Renteria in the 125 pound championship if both wrestlers win their first round matchups.
No. 20 redshirt junior 285-pounder Trevor Tinker also performed well against Oregon State and Little Rock, and is on a 10-bout win streak entering the championships.
“The team’s energy right now is awesome, we have a really fun lineup to be a part of,” Tinker said. “I’m just excited to get behind the team, too, and watch them have success.”
This late into the season, most wrestlers are looking to make small adjustments rather than making big technical changes.
Tinker has made more mental than physical changes throughout the season and in preparation for the championships.
“I was really focused on wins and losses early in the season, and I shifted over my identity as a wrestler,” Tinker said. “I feel like it’s made wrestling a lot more enjoyable.”
No. 9 149-pound redshirt junior Chance Lamer also made adjustments after suffering his first and only season loss against Oregon State’s No. 5 149-pounder Ethan Stiles in February.
He was able to bounce back from the loss and win his final two matches decisively.
“He’s a very intense dude, and tends to warm up extremely hard, almost to the point where it started to negatively affect his performance,” Sioredas said. “We pulled back on his warm up a little bit, and I think you saw a little better version against Little Rock.”
Narrowing down the field
The starting tournament lineup has not changed much throughout the year, with shifts at only a few weights.
At 174 pounds, where last year’s Pac-12 champion Adam Kemp had occupied the spot before stepping away from the team after dealing with injuries.
Meanwhile, at 197 pounds, four different wrestlers had a shot at the starting spot.
“Normally we look at who has done the best under the lights in competition, we look at common opponents, head to head carries some weight, but really, we look at who’s getting better,” Sioredas said.
The competition at both weights was so close that Sioredas opted for the simplest way to decide: a wrestle-off in practice.
“No one person was standing out. They’ve all been getting better, they all wanted it,” Sioredas said.
At 174 pounds, redshirt sophomore Cash Stewart came out on top.
Stewart had an up-and-down 2025 but showed flashes of potential with a fall victory against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, his first match since moving up from the 165-pound weight class.
In a testament to his persistence in his role on the squad, redshirt junior Cole Jackson locked down the 197-pound tournament nod.
This is Jackson’s fourth year at Cal Poly, and he has worked his way into the lineup more and more after making zero appearances in 2022-23.
Bringing the home crowd
For the three Lamer brothers, Corvallis, Oregon is a familiar setting.
The trio grew up in Corvallis and attended Crescent Valley High School, where they and their older two brothers, Justice and Brawley, excelled on the mat.
“Obviously, going back home to Corvallis is going to be really fun,” Chance said. “Seeing my family there, having a home crowd essentially, I’d say that’s what I’m looking forward to most.”
They have been irreplaceable pieces in the Mustangs’ lineup all season.
Chance and No. 33 ranked 157-pounder graduate Legend Lamer are nationally ranked heading into the tournament. Chance is currently tied for the highest ranked Mustang, ranked No. 9 at 149 pounds.
Redshirt freshman Daschle Lamer was also ranked earlier this year, slipping out of the rankings after a tough loss in their final dual meet against Cal State Bakersfield.
This is the first time that Daschle has competed in the Pac-12 tournament.
“I had Legend with me last year, but having both Legend and Dash, it’s going to get even better,” Chance said.
All three are poised to make an impact in what may be their final Pac-12 action as a trio.
Matchups
The matchups for the semifinal matches are confirmed, with tournament seeding determined by performance in conference duals.
This year’s bracket gives a lot of the Mustangs’ top wrestlers an opportunity for redemption against opponents they faced earlier in the season.
At 125 pounds, Holeman is the No. 1 seed and faces Little Rock’s Jayden Carson, who he narrowly beat 1-0 in their last matchup.
Ranked No. 9 at 133 pounds, junior Zeth Romney has already found success in individual tournaments this year. Romney won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, beating out Iowa State’s No. 3 ranked Evan Frost in the final.
Romney will potentially face Little Rock’s No. 6 ranked Nasir Bailey in his 133-pound final, who he is 1-1 against this season.
Chance Lamer has a tough path to the 149-pound title as the No. 2 seed. Three of four wrestlers are within the top 11 wrestlers at the weight.
Lamer faces No. 11 Jordan Williams, and potentially No. 5 Ethan Stiles later on, who is the only wrestler to beat him this year.
Three heavyweight wrestlers also hold national rankings heading into Thursday.
With the No. 2 seed, Tinker faces Oregon State’s No. 31 Brett Mower at heavyweight. Tinker defeated Mower 12-1 earlier this year.
The only weight where the Mustangs carry an overall ranking advantage is 165 pounds, where third-seeded Luka Wick will face unranked Oregon State wrestler Kekana Fouret.
The tournament starts at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, starting with the 125-pound semi-final bouts and going up in weight as the day progresses.
