Friday, December 29
Hoffman Estates, IL / NOW Arena
All Day
at
Ken Kraft Midlands Championships
Photo by: Sam Janicki
Romney, Tinker Advance to Semifinals at Midlands Championships
12/29/2023 10:15:00 PM | Wrestling
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Redshirt freshman Zeth Romney (pictured above) and redshirt sophomore Trevor Tinker both punched their tickets to the semifinals to highlight action for Cal Poly wrestling during the opening day of the 59th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on Friday at NOW Arena.
A total of four Mustangs advanced to the quarterfinals in their respective weight classes and all four will get a chance to wrestle on the second and final day of the historic tournament Saturday, with competition beginning at 9 a.m. PST.
With four wrestlers remaining, Cal Poly currently sits in 11th place in the team standings out of 42 schools.
The Mustangs took it to some of the best wrestlers in the country on the opening day, and Romney and Tinker led the way.
Romney earned a pair of wins by decision before grabbing a thrilling 3-2 quarterfinal victory over Virginia Tech's Sam Latona, a two-time NCAA All-American and the fifth-ranked 133-pounder in the country. After dethroning the top seed in the tournament, Romney will battle No. 4 seed Dylan Shawver from Rutgers in the semifinals Saturday. Romney will be seeking revenge after dropping a 9-3 decision to Shawver during the Mustangs' season opener on Nov. 3.
In his first action since wrestling in the 2023 NCAA Championships in March, Tinker showed no signs of rust, pinning his first opponent of the season 4:24 into their match to get off to a roaring start. He followed up that performance with an 11-2 major decision and a 7-1 decision to secure his spot in the semifinals at 285 pounds. Tinker, the fifth seed, will battle top-seeded Luke Luffman from Illinois in his semifinal bout.
Graduate student Adam Kemp (174 pounds) and redshirt sophomore Cole Jackson (285 pounds) also made it to the quarterfinals in their weight classes and will have a chance to place at the tournament Saturday while wrestling in the consolation bracket. Kemp won two matches by decision and one by major decision to book his ticket to the quarterfinals, where he lost a tightly-contested battle with Harvard's Philip Conigliaro — ranked 13th in the country — 4-1 in the first overtime period. Kemp, ranked No. 8 in the nation at 174 pounds, is now 11-2 on the season.
Jackson had a standout performance at heavyweight, winning his opening bout by major decision before upsetting West Virginia's Michael Wolfgram, the third seed in the tournament and No. 23 in the country, in the Round of 16 with a 9-7 decision. He then fell in the quarterfinals to sixth-seeded Jacob Bullock.
Five other Mustangs secured victories on the opening day of the Midlands Championships, including redshirt freshman Dom Mendez who went 2-2 at 125 pounds. Koda Holeman (125), Blake Hinrichsen (174), Kendall La Rosa (184) and Jarad Priest (197) each grabbed one win.
Wrestling resumes at 9 a.m. PST Saturday. You can follow the results on TrackWrestling or follow Cal Poly wrestling on Twitter/X (@CalPolyWrestle) for live updates. A livestream is also available on Big Ten Plus with the purchase of a subscription.
Ken Kraft Midlands Championships
Cal Poly Results Day 1
125
Tristan Lujan (Michigan State) md. Koda Holeman, 15-6
Koda Holeman d. Caden Horwath (Michigan), 5-0
Dom Mendez tf. Caelen Riley (Illinois), 15-0
Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) tf. Dom Mendez, 15-0
Dom Mendez md. Koda Holeman, 11-2
Diego Sotelo (Harvard) tf. Dom Mendez, 15-0
133
Zeth Romney d. Gable Porter (Virginia), 7-5
Zeth Romney d. Alex Almeyda (Penn), 8-1
Zeth Romney d. Sam Latona (Virginia Tech), 3-2
141
Evan Mougalian (Penn RTC) f. Abe Hinrichsen, 4:05
Tyler Vazquez (Princeton) md. Abe Hinrichsen, 16-6
157
Chase Saldate (Michigan State) md. Devin Alexander, 8-0
Shane Heil (Cleveland State) d. Devin Alexander, 7-5
165
Jack Ganos (Air Force) d. Michael Goldfeder, 4-1
Luke Gayer (Rutgers) md. Michael Goldfeder, 15-1
174
Ricardo Salinas (Northern Illinois) d. Blake Hinrichsen, 10-9
Blake Hinrichsen d. Peter Acciardi (Cal Baptist), 4-3
Sean Coughlin (George Mason) d. Blake Hinrichsen, 7-3
Adam Kemp md. Marcus Petite (Buffalo), 11-3
Adam Kemp d. Orlando Cruz (Purdue), 5-0
Adam Kemp d. Noah Fox (Franklin & Marshall), 13-6
Philip Conigliaro (Harvard) d. Adam Kemp, SV-1 4-1
184
Kendall La Rosa d. Adrien Cramer (Central Michigan), 7-5
Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) f. Kendall La Rosa, 3:17
Gavin Bell (Ohio State) mf. Kendall La Rosa
197
Martin Cosgrove (Penn) d. Jarad Priest, 6-4
Jarad Priest (Cal Poly) d. Joseph Braunagel (Illinois), 10-3
JT Davis (Lehigh) f. Jarad Priest, 1:34
285
Trevor Tinker f. Bryson Buhk (SIU Edwardsville), 4:24
Trevor Tinker md. Robby Bates (North Central), 11-2
Trevor Tinker d. Daulton Mayer (Thomas More), 7-1
Cole Jackson d. Robbie Unruh (Buffalo), 9-2
Cole Jackson d. Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia), 9-7
Jacob Bullock (Indiana) md. Cole Jackson, 19-8
A total of four Mustangs advanced to the quarterfinals in their respective weight classes and all four will get a chance to wrestle on the second and final day of the historic tournament Saturday, with competition beginning at 9 a.m. PST.
With four wrestlers remaining, Cal Poly currently sits in 11th place in the team standings out of 42 schools.
The Mustangs took it to some of the best wrestlers in the country on the opening day, and Romney and Tinker led the way.
Romney earned a pair of wins by decision before grabbing a thrilling 3-2 quarterfinal victory over Virginia Tech's Sam Latona, a two-time NCAA All-American and the fifth-ranked 133-pounder in the country. After dethroning the top seed in the tournament, Romney will battle No. 4 seed Dylan Shawver from Rutgers in the semifinals Saturday. Romney will be seeking revenge after dropping a 9-3 decision to Shawver during the Mustangs' season opener on Nov. 3.
In his first action since wrestling in the 2023 NCAA Championships in March, Tinker showed no signs of rust, pinning his first opponent of the season 4:24 into their match to get off to a roaring start. He followed up that performance with an 11-2 major decision and a 7-1 decision to secure his spot in the semifinals at 285 pounds. Tinker, the fifth seed, will battle top-seeded Luke Luffman from Illinois in his semifinal bout.
Graduate student Adam Kemp (174 pounds) and redshirt sophomore Cole Jackson (285 pounds) also made it to the quarterfinals in their weight classes and will have a chance to place at the tournament Saturday while wrestling in the consolation bracket. Kemp won two matches by decision and one by major decision to book his ticket to the quarterfinals, where he lost a tightly-contested battle with Harvard's Philip Conigliaro — ranked 13th in the country — 4-1 in the first overtime period. Kemp, ranked No. 8 in the nation at 174 pounds, is now 11-2 on the season.
Jackson had a standout performance at heavyweight, winning his opening bout by major decision before upsetting West Virginia's Michael Wolfgram, the third seed in the tournament and No. 23 in the country, in the Round of 16 with a 9-7 decision. He then fell in the quarterfinals to sixth-seeded Jacob Bullock.
Five other Mustangs secured victories on the opening day of the Midlands Championships, including redshirt freshman Dom Mendez who went 2-2 at 125 pounds. Koda Holeman (125), Blake Hinrichsen (174), Kendall La Rosa (184) and Jarad Priest (197) each grabbed one win.
Wrestling resumes at 9 a.m. PST Saturday. You can follow the results on TrackWrestling or follow Cal Poly wrestling on Twitter/X (@CalPolyWrestle) for live updates. A livestream is also available on Big Ten Plus with the purchase of a subscription.
Ken Kraft Midlands Championships
Cal Poly Results Day 1
125
Tristan Lujan (Michigan State) md. Koda Holeman, 15-6
Koda Holeman d. Caden Horwath (Michigan), 5-0
Dom Mendez tf. Caelen Riley (Illinois), 15-0
Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) tf. Dom Mendez, 15-0
Dom Mendez md. Koda Holeman, 11-2
Diego Sotelo (Harvard) tf. Dom Mendez, 15-0
133
Zeth Romney d. Gable Porter (Virginia), 7-5
Zeth Romney d. Alex Almeyda (Penn), 8-1
Zeth Romney d. Sam Latona (Virginia Tech), 3-2
141
Evan Mougalian (Penn RTC) f. Abe Hinrichsen, 4:05
Tyler Vazquez (Princeton) md. Abe Hinrichsen, 16-6
157
Chase Saldate (Michigan State) md. Devin Alexander, 8-0
Shane Heil (Cleveland State) d. Devin Alexander, 7-5
165
Jack Ganos (Air Force) d. Michael Goldfeder, 4-1
Luke Gayer (Rutgers) md. Michael Goldfeder, 15-1
174
Ricardo Salinas (Northern Illinois) d. Blake Hinrichsen, 10-9
Blake Hinrichsen d. Peter Acciardi (Cal Baptist), 4-3
Sean Coughlin (George Mason) d. Blake Hinrichsen, 7-3
Adam Kemp md. Marcus Petite (Buffalo), 11-3
Adam Kemp d. Orlando Cruz (Purdue), 5-0
Adam Kemp d. Noah Fox (Franklin & Marshall), 13-6
Philip Conigliaro (Harvard) d. Adam Kemp, SV-1 4-1
184
Kendall La Rosa d. Adrien Cramer (Central Michigan), 7-5
Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) f. Kendall La Rosa, 3:17
Gavin Bell (Ohio State) mf. Kendall La Rosa
197
Martin Cosgrove (Penn) d. Jarad Priest, 6-4
Jarad Priest (Cal Poly) d. Joseph Braunagel (Illinois), 10-3
JT Davis (Lehigh) f. Jarad Priest, 1:34
285
Trevor Tinker f. Bryson Buhk (SIU Edwardsville), 4:24
Trevor Tinker md. Robby Bates (North Central), 11-2
Trevor Tinker d. Daulton Mayer (Thomas More), 7-1
Cole Jackson d. Robbie Unruh (Buffalo), 9-2
Cole Jackson d. Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia), 9-7
Jacob Bullock (Indiana) md. Cole Jackson, 19-8
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