George Mason
Cal Poly Downs George Mason, Falls to No. 15 Little Rock, Drexel on Day 1 of National Duals
1/10/2025 7:00:00 PM | Wrestling
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The Cal Poly wrestling team advanced to the quarterfinals and posted a 1-2 overall record during the first day of the NWCA National Duals on Friday at University of Northern Iowa’s UNI-Dome.
The Mustangs opened the two-day dual tournament by scoring an upset victory over George Mason — who is receiving votes nationally — before dropping a nail biter with No. 15 Little Rock in the quarterfinals and finishing the day with a consolation defeat to Drexel.
Cal Poly wraps up the NWCA National Duals on Saturday morning with a pair of duals, taking on Ohio (4-4) first at 7 a.m. PST and then Sacred Heart University (1-8) at 9 a.m. PST.
Across the three duals Friday, redshirt juniors Chance Lamer (149 pounds), Luka Wick (165 pounds) and Trevor Tinker (285 pounds) all went a perfect 3-0, while redshirt sophomore Zeth Romney (133 pounds) posted a 2-0 record, not wrestling in the final dual of the day against Drexel.
In the dual with George Mason, Cal Poly emerged victorious in six of the 10 bouts to capture a 26-14 win. Two Mustangs secured pins in the dual as Chance, the seventh-ranked 149-pounder in the country, earned a fall over No. 23 Kaden Cassidy from George Mason at 4:42 and Tinker, the 29th-ranked heavyweight, grabbed a pin in the first period of his match at 2:28.
Romney, ranked No. 3 nationally in his weight class, completely dominated his opponent at 133 pounds from George Mason, securing a 22-7 technical fall. At 157 and 165 pounds, Cal Poly scored back-to-back upset victories over nationally ranked opponents. Graduate student Legend Lamer defeated No. 23 DJ McGee by a 4-3 decision by way of a riding time point and No. 28 Wick earned a 15-9 decision over No. 23 Evan Maag. Redshirt sophomore Koda Holeman, ranked 30th in the country at 125 pounds, opened the dual against George Mason with a win by decision.
The victory over the Patriots allowed Cal Poly to advance to the quarterfinals where they went toe-to-toe with No. 15 Little Rock — the fourth-ranked mid-major in the country — and fought tooth and nail in every match. Unfortunately, the Trojans (9-1) were able to earn bonus points in several bouts to pull away from the Mustangs in the thrilling dual. Cal Poly and Little Rock split the 10 bouts, each winning five.
The Mustangs jumped out to a roaring 9-0 lead over Little Rock thanks to a 12-11 decision by Holeman at 125 and another commanding performance by Romney at 133 as he pinned 2024 All-American and No. 6-ranked Nasir Bailey at 4:14. The victory was his eighth over a ranked opponent this season and allowed him to improve to 11-1 on the year.
Little Rock made it 9-4 with a major at 141 and then Chance helped Cal Poly pull ahead 12-4 with a 4-2 decision over No. 13 Jordan Williams at 149. Legend lost narrowly to No. 19 Matty Bianchi by a 4-2 decision, but Wick allowed the Mustangs to gain a 15-7 advantage with his second upset win of the day, defeating No. 20 Joseph Bianchi by a 5-4 decision.
However, the Trojans won the next three matches by fall, major decision and technical fall to take a 22-15 lead. Tinker finished the dual at heavyweight with an 8-0 major decision.
The defeat to Little Rock moved the Mustangs to the consolation bracket, where they fell to Drexel 23-16 Friday night. In the dual with the Dragons, Chance and Wick grabbed wins by decision and redshirt sophomore Wesley Wilson earned a pin at 4:30 at 197 pounds in his first career dual as a Mustang. Tinker completed the first day of competition for the Mustangs with a 9-0 major decision to improve to 15-5 on the season.
You can watch Cal Poly’s two consolation duals on Saturday live on FloWrestling with live scoring available on TrackWrestling.
Cal Poly (26) vs. RV George Mason (14)
125: No. 30 Koda Holeman (Cal Poly) d. Ben Monn (George Mason), 4-1
133: No. 3 Zeth Romney (Cal Poly) tf. Geoffrey Whelan (George Mason), 22-7
141: Dominic Hargrove (George Mason) d. Alek VanBebber (Cal Poly), 8-3
149: No. 7 Chance Lamer (Cal Poly) fall No. 23 Kaden Cassidy (George Mason), 4:42
157: Legend Lamer (Cal Poly) d. No. 23 DJ McGee (George Mason), 4-3
165: No. 28 Luka Wick (Cal Poly) d. No. 23 Evan Maag (George Mason), 15-9
174: Logan Messer (George Mason) d. Blake Hinrichsen (Cal Poly), 12-5
184: No. 25 Malachi DuVall (George Mason) fall Jake Honey (Cal Poly), 2:16
197: Tyler Kocak (George Mason) d. Tyler Hodges (Cal Poly), 5-3
285: No. 29 Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly) fall James Blackman (George Mason), 2:28
George Mason's team score was adjusted by -1.0 for control of mat
Cal Poly (19) vs. No. 15 Little Rock (22)
125: No. 30 Koda Holeman (Cal Poly) d. Jayden Carson (Little Rock), 12-11
133: No. 3 Zeth Romney (Cal Poly) fall No. 6 Nasir Bailey (Little Rock), 4:14
141: Brennan Van Hoecke (Little Rock) md. Alek VanBebber (Cal Poly), 16-6
149: No. 7 Chance Lamer (Cal Poly) d. No. 13 Jordan Williams (Little Rock), 4-2
157: No. 19 Matty Bianchi (Little Rock) d. Legend Lamer (Cal Poly), 4-2
165: No. 28 Luka Wick (Cal Poly) d. No. 20 Joseph Bianchi (Little Rock), 5-4
174: No. 30 Tyler Brennan (Little Rock) fall Blake Hinrichsen (Cal Poly), 4:33
184: No. 10 Brock DelSignore (Little Rock) md. Jake Honey (Cal Poly), 15-5
197: No. 5 Stephen little (Little Rock) tf. Tyler Hodges (Cal Poly), 23-5
285: No. 29 Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly) md. Keith Miley (Little Rock), 8-0
Cal Poly (16) vs. Drexel (23)
125: Desmond Pleasant (Drexel) d. No. 30 Koda Holeman (Cal Poly), 9-5
133: Kyle Waterman (Drexel) accepted forfeit
141: Jordan Soriano (Drexel) d. Alek VanBebber (Cal Poly), 5-1
149: No. 7 Chance Lamer (Cal Poly) d. Dom Findora (Drexel), 4-0
157: Luke Nichter (Drexel) d. Legend Lamer (Cal Poly), 3-2
165: No. 28 Luka Wick (Cal Poly) d. Cody Walsh (Drexel), 10-4
174: Jasiah Queen (Drexel) md. Cash Stewart (Cal Poly), 15-5
184: Guiseppe Hoose (Drexel) md. Jake Honey (Cal Poly), 14-1
197: Wesley Wilson (Cal Poly) fall Ib Ameer (Drexel), 4:30
285: No. 29 Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly) md. Tanner Updegraff (Drexel), 9-0
