Cal Poly Bullies Duke, Falls Short to No. 14 Rutgers in Season-Opening Duals

Friday, November 3

San Luis Obispo, CA

6 P.M.

Duke

Photo by: Eyasu Betwos

Cal Poly Bullies Duke, Falls Short to No. 14 Rutgers in Season-Opening Duals

11/3/2023 11:30:00 PM | Wrestling

SCORESHEETS — DUKE DUAL | RUTGERS DUAL

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly wrestling opened the 2023-24 season and its 75th year as a program with a pair of duals Friday at the Mott Athletics Center.

In front of 1,287 fans, the Mustangs, who received eight votes in the preseason NWCA Coaches Poll, throttled Duke 38-6 to open the night before falling in a hard-fought battle with No. 14 Rutgers, 31-10.

In the matchup with the Blue Devils, Cal Poly secured five wins via technical fall, one by fall and another by majority decision to roll to its first dual victory of the season.

The Mustangs surged out to a 25-0 advantage over Duke in the first five bouts thanks to a 20-3 technical fall by redshirt freshman Dom Mendez at 125 pounds, a 19-3 technical fall by redshirt freshman Zeth Romney at 133, a 19-6 majority decision by redshirt sophomore Abe Hinrichsen at 141, a 21-6 technical fall by redshirt sophomore Chance Lamer at 149 and a fall by redshirt junior Legend Lamer 2:11 into his match at 157.

Chance and Legend were two of three wrestlers for the Mustangs to post a perfect 2-0 record across the duals. Legend, who secured Cal Poly's only pin on the night, capped off his night by earning a 4-2 decision over Rutgers' Al Desantis. In his Mustang debut, Chance, a transfer from Michigan, impressed securing a whooping 11 takedowns across his two bouts, including seven in his technical fall victory against the Blue Devils. In the dual with the Scarlet Knights, Chance — currently ranked seventh in the nation at 149 pounds — cruised to a 14-5 majority decision.

The other Mustang that went undefeated across the two duals was graduate student Adam Kemp. At 174 pounds, Kemp showcased why he will be a force to be reckoned with this season, grabbing five takedowns in a 18-3 technical fall drubbing of Duke's Jake Wimmer. Then against Rutgers, Kemp, ranked No. 19 in the nation in his weight class, secured an 8-5 decision over No. 28 Jackson Turley, a 2021 All-American.

In the dual with Duke, redshirt sophomore Jarad Priest took it to his opponent at 197 pounds, earning seven takedowns en route to a commanding 22-7 technical fall victory. Redshirt sophomore Kendall La Rosa also picked up a 6-4 decision against the Blue Devils.

Cal Poly may have come up short against Rutgers, but they didn't go down with a fight. Lightweights Mendez and Romney both battled to the bitter end against a pair of difficult opponents. Mendez went toe-to-toe with the sixth-ranked 125-pounder in the country (Rutgers' Dean Peterson), losing a 4-0 decision, while Romney fought valiantly in a 9-3 defeat against No. 16 Dylan Shawver.

The Scarlet Knights entered Friday's dual as one of only seven schools in the country with a ranked wrestler in all 10 weight classes.

A number of Mustangs will compete in the Menlo Open on Saturday to gain experience before the team heads to Kansas City next Saturday, Nov. 11, to wrestle in the Tiger Style Invite hosted by Missouri.