Cal Poly Opens 2016-17 Season With Three Duals and New Coaching Staff
10/31/2016 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
LIVE STATS: SFSU | INDIANA
VIDEO STREAM (INDIANA ONLY)
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Jon Sioredas Era officially opens this week as Cal Poly hosts San Francisco State and Indiana in a double-dual Thursday.
The Mustangs face the Gators at 1:30 p.m. outdoors in the University Union plaza, followed by the Hoosiers at 7 o'clock in the Mott Athletics Center. San Francisco State and Indiana will wrestle each other at 5:30 p.m. inside.
Sioredas, hired in April to take over the helm of the Mustang wrestling program after two seasons at Grand Canyon, inherited a Mustang squad with 16 returning letter winners, nine of whom wrestled in at least four of the 12 dual meets a year ago.
Heading the list of returnees are 157-pounder Colt Shorts, 15-10 a year ago, including a 9-3 mark in duals, and 197-pounder J.T. Goodwin, who was 18-11 with six falls last year, including an 8-4 mark in dual meets. Both are seniors.
Other top veterans on the 2016-17 roster include Colton Schilling at 141 pounds, Travis Berridge at 174, Mitch Woods at 184 and Spencer Empey at 285. Schilling was 12-9 as a redshirt freshman a year ago while Berridge was 9-6, Woods 12-16 and Empey 8-12.
Also in the mix are 165-pounder Blake Kastl (8-12 a year ago), 125-pounder David Gonzalez (11-18), 149-pounder Joshy Cortez (6-10), 165-pounder Joe Granger (10-10) and 149-pounder Jason DeLaCruz (9-13).
Several wrestlers with glossy records as redshirts in open tournaments a year ago are on the roster as well, including 184-pounder Thomas Lane (15-5) and 174-pounder Matt Wilhelm (14-3).
The roster also includes eight other redshirts and an equal number of newcomers.
"Our training has been very consistent throughout the off-season and we are excited to see where we stand," said Sioredas. "We are especially excited about our senior class, as they have been great leaders on and off the mat.
"Shorts, Kastl, and Empey have been selected as our team captains for the 2016-17 season by their peers," Sioredas added. "These three have been impressive with both their work ethic and unselfish leadership."
Cal Poly posted a 3-9 mark in duals a year ago and finished sixth in the Pac-12 Championship with no national qualifiers.
"From what we have found, our guys have a chip on their shoulder," said Sioredas. "The level of intensity in our room has been steadily increasing and we understand the importance of the process that will ultimately lead to success."
Sioredas will be assisted by Todd Schavrien, an All-American wrestler at Missouri, and Mike Hatcher, a part of four national championship teams at Iowa.
San Francisco State, coached by Lars Jensen the past 34 years, posted a 6-7 record a year ago. The Gators are led by 285-pounder Sam Alnassiri, who was 25-12 a year ago and is ranked No. 5 in the d2wrestle.com NCAA Division II National Wrestling Preseason Rankings.
Cal Poly earned a 29-8 victory over the Gators a year ago and owns a 42-2 advantage in the all-time series.
The Mustangs are meeting Indiana in a dual meet for the first time Thursday. Two Hoosiers are ranked in the InterMat preseason polls — 174-pounder Nathan Jackson, ranked No. 4; and 125-pounder Elijah Oliver ranked No. 17. Duane Goldman is in his 25th season as head coach at Indiana and guided the Hoosiers to a 67 dual meet record a year ago.
After Thursday's dual meets, the Mustangs get an early start on Pac-12 competition, visiting Stanford on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. The Cardinal will field four nationally ranked wrestlers — Joey McKenna No. 3 at 141 pounds, Connor Schram No. 4 at 125, Nathan Butler No. 11 at 285 and Jim Wilson No. 12 at 174.
Stanford beat Cal Poly 35-6 a year ago, but the Mustangs still own a 39-18-1 advantage in the series.
Cal Poly will wrestle 12 home duals this year. Including San Francisco State, the Mustangs also will host Army outdoors in the University Union plaza on Nov. 18.
The Mustangs have two other doubleheaders on the schedule in addition to Thursday's pair of duals. Cal Poly hosts Cal Baptist and Northwestern on Nov. 12 and North Dakota State and CSU Bakersfield at Righetti High School on Jan. 28.
Other home duals include Rutgers on Nov. 13, West Virginia on Jan. 3, Wyoming on Jan. 20, Air Force on Jan. 22 and Northern Colorado on Feb. 5.
Stanford will host the Pac-12 Conference Championship on Feb. 25 and the NCAA Division I National Championship is slated for March 16-18 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
Probable Lineups
Cal Poly
125 -- David Gonzalez, Sophomore, Covina, CA
133 -- Yoshito Funakoshi, Sophomore, Torrance, CA
141 -- Colton Schilling, Junior, Sweet Home, OR
149 -- Joshy Cortez, Sophomore, Temecula, CA
157 -- Colt Shorts, Senior, Canonsburg, PA
165 -- Blake Kastl, Senior, Saint Paris, OH
174 -- Matt Wilhelm, Redshirt Freshman, Manahawkin, NJ
184 -- Thomas Lane, Redshirt Freshman, Garden City, NY
197 -- J.T. Goodwin, Senior, Stockton, CA
285 -- Spencer Empey, Junior, Sparks, NV
San Francisco State
125 -- Matt Gamble, Sophomore, Porterville, CA
133 -- Nate Cervantes, Redshirt Freshman, Pittsburg, CA
141 -- Joshua Weinberg, Grayshirt, Lake Worth, FL
149 -- Dylan Furtado, Senior, Escalon, CA
157 -- Romeo Medina, Sophomore, Merced, CA
165 -- Tyson Kuahine, Senior, Oahu, HI or Jesse Lyga, Senior, Simi Valley, CA
174 -- Mike Marshall, Sophomore, San Clemente, CA
184 -- Morris Wilner, Freshman, Orange, CA or Mitchell Owens, Freshman, Tacoma, WA
197 -- Johnathan Costa, Senior, Escalon, CA
285 -- Sam Alnassiri, Senior, Sacramento, CA
Indiana
125 -- Elijah Oliver, Sophomore, Washington, IL
133 -- Garrett Pepple, Redshirt Freshman, Kendalville, IN
141 -- Tommy Cash, Sophomore, Indianapolis, IN or Cole Weaver, Sophomore, Hudson, MI
149 -- Luke Blanton, Junior, Alexandria, IN
157 -- Jake Danishek, Sophomore, Lebanon, OH
165 -- Bryce Martin, Sophomore, Bakersfield, CA or Gabe Koontz, Redshirt Freshman, Ellettsville, IN
174 -- Nathan Jackson, Senior, Crete, IL or Devin Skatzka, Redshirt Freshman, Richmond, MI
184 -- Jake Hinz, Redshirt Freshman, Westerville, OH
197 -- Norman Conley, Redshirt Freshman, St. Louis, MO
285 -- Fletcher Miller, Sophomore, Kokomo, IN
Stanford
125 -- Connor Schram, Junior, Canonsburg. PA
133 -- Mason Pengilly, Junior, Porterville, CA
141 -- Joey McKenna, Sophomore, Towaco, NJ
149 -- Tommy Pawelski, Junior, Park Ridge, IL
157 -- Paul Fox, Sophomore, Gilroy, CA
165 -- Keaton Subjeck, Junior, El Dorado Hills, CA
174 -- Jim Wilson, Senior, Lodi, CA
184 -- Austin Flores, Redshirt Freshman, Clovis, CA
197 -- Josh Marchok, Senior, Schaumburg, IL
285 -- Nathan Butler, Junior, Leavenworth, KN
