Ken Kraft Midlands Championships
3 Mustangs Advance to Round of 12 at Midlands
12/29/2024 9:00:00 PM | Wrestling
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Redshirt sophomores Koda Holeman and Cash Stewart both advanced to the quarterfinals in their respective weight classes Sunday, and a total of three Mustangs are still alive after Day 1 of the 60th annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships.
Holeman, Stewart and redshirt junior Cole Jackson will all wrestle in consolation matches during the second and final day of the prestigious tournament Monday from NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
On the opening day Sunday, seven Mustangs hit the mat with six of them picking up at least one victory. Holeman and Stewart both went 2-1 on the day, while Jackson posted the most victories by a Mustang with a 3-1 record.
Holeman, ranked 30th in the country, took down Harvard’s Logan Brzozowski by an 8-4 decision in his first match at 125 pounds before pinning Indiana’s Blaine Frazier at 6:22 to secure a spot in the quarterfinals. The Clovis native nearly scored an upset victory to advance to the semifinals, coming up just short to 17th-ranked Max Gallagher in the first overtime period, 4-1.
Stewart punched his ticket to the quarterfinals at 165 pounds with a pair of victories by decision, defeating Penn’s Reed Fullmer 12-5 and Michigan State’s Jay Nivison 7-5. In the quarterfinals, Stewart fell by technical fall to Northwestern’s Maxx Mayfield, ranked No. 11 in the country.
Jackson had a sensational day on the mat at 285 pounds. He opened the tournament with an 8-5 decision over Northern Illinois’ Jacob Christensen. The Redmond, Oregon native was pinned in his second match against the 22nd-ranked heavyweight before bouncing back with a 5-4 decision over Stanford’s Jackson Mankowski and a dominant 18-2 technical fall over West Virginia’s Michael Wolfgram in the consolation bracket. This is the second straight year Jackson has beaten Wolfgram at the Midlands Championships, upsetting him by a 9-7 decision at last year’s tournament.
Holeman, Stewart and Jackson will all wrestle in Round of 12 matches starting at 8:30 a.m. PST Monday. With victories in those bouts, each of them would secure a placing position at the tourney.
Redshirt junior Abe Hinrichsen (157 pounds), redshirt freshman Blake Hinrichsen (174) and freshman Alek VanBebber (141) all went 1-2 Sunday.
As a team, Cal Poly currently sits in 21st with 12.5 points.
Midlands Championships Day 1 Results
Cal Poly
125
No. 30 Koda Holeman (Cal Poly) d. Logan Brzozowski (Harvard), 8-4
No. 30 Koda Holeman (Cal Poly) f. Blaine Frazier (Indiana), 6:22
No. 17 Max Gallagher (Penn) sv. Koda Holeman (Cal Poly), SV-1, 4-1
141
No. 22 Jacob Brya (Northern Illinois) tf. Alek VanBebber (Cal Poly), 15-0
Alek VanBebber (Cal Poly) d. Joseph Davi (Princeton), 5-3
Ben Lunn (SIU Edwardsville) tf. Alek VanBebber (Cal Poly), 16-0
149
EJ Parco (Stanford) d. Jagger French (Cal Poly), 13-8
Eric Almarinez (SIU Edwardsville) d. Jagger French (Cal Poly), 3-2
157
Abe Hinrichsen (Cal Poly) d. Antonio Alvarado (Illinois), 2-0
JT Chance (George Mason) d. Abe Hinrichsen (Cal Poly), 5-1
Michael Cetta (Rutgers) d. Abe Hinrichsen (Cal Poly), 13-11
165
Cash Stewart (Cal Poly) d. Reed Fullmer (Penn), 12-5
Cash Stewart (Cal Poly) d. Jay Nivison (Michigan State), 7-5
No. 11 Maxx Mayfield (Northwestern) tf. Cash Stewart (Cal Poly), 21-6
174
No. 6 Lorenzo Norman (Stanford) f. Blake Hinrichsen (Cal Poly), 4:01
Blake Hinrichsen (Cal Poly) d. Xavier Giles (Princeton), 3-2
Tommy Bennett (Northern Illinois) d. Blake Hinrichsen (Cal Poly), 15-11
285
Cole Jackson (Cal Poly) d. Jacob Christensen (Northern Illinois), 8-5
No. 22 Bryan Caves (Central Michigan) f. Cole Jackson (Cal Poly), 2:31
Cole Jackson (Cal Poly) d. Jackson Mankowski (Stanford), 5-4
Cole Jackson (Cal Poly) tf. Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia), 18-2
