In the final seconds of the quarterfinals, No. 32 ranked 133-pound redshirt freshman Zeth Romney was up 3-2 over Virginia Tech’s No. 5 ranked Sam Latona.
Romney evaded multiple takedown attempts from the higher seed Latona to secure the upset. The Cal Poly coaching staff rose to their feet as Romney advanced to the semifinals of the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships this past weekend
Despite losing his semifinal match, Romney went on to defeat the No. 27 ranked and No. 8 ranked wrestler on his way to a third-place finish in the 133-pound division and a 5-1 record in the tournament.
Romney’s third-place finish is the second-highest individual placement by a Cal Poly wrestler ever at the tournament.
Cal Poly finished 13th out of 42 teams in the tournament, the second-highest finish at the tournament in program history.
Redshirt sophomore heavyweight Trevor Tinker made his season debut after missing extended time due to an injury and also advanced as far as the semifinals in his weight class.
Tinker couldn’t get past the semifinals and was forced to medically forfeit his fifth place match, ultimately finishing in sixth in the heavyweight division and a 3-2 mark in the tournament.
No. 8 ranked 174-pounder graduate Adam Kemp, and redshirt sophomore heavyweight Cole Jackson reached as far as the quarterfinals in their respective weight classes.
After losing via sudden victory in his quarterfinal bout, Kemp bounced back with a decision victory in his consolation match. He was forced to medically forfeit the seventh-place match, coming away with an eighth-place finish and a 4-2 record in the tournament.
Jackson was a win away from placing in the tournament but couldn’t come away with a victory in the consolation bracket.
Other Mustangs who didn’t make it to Day 2 of the tournament but managed at least one win include redshirt freshman 125-pounders Dom Mendez and Koda Holeman, true freshman 174-pounder Blake Hinrichsen, redshirt sophomore 184-pounder Kendall La Rosa, and redshirt sophomore 197-pounder Jarad Priest.
Despite not coming away with a win, redshirt sophomore 141-pounder Abe Hinrichsen was voted The Elias, John and Pete George Sportsmanship Award winner by tournament officials and is only given to one wrestler at the event.
The next time Cal Poly will take the mat will be at home in a pair of duals against American University and Northern Colorado on Jan. 12 at 5:30 at Mott Athletics Center.
