Ken Kraft Midlands Championships
6 Mustangs Place as Cal Poly Secures Program-Best Finish at Midlands
12/30/2025 9:00:00 PM | Wrestling
EVANSTON, Ill. — Thanks to a program record six placers, Cal Poly wrestling earned a program record team finish of fourth at the 61st Ken Kraft Midlands Championships hosted by Northwestern on Monday and Tuesday inside Ryan Fieldhouse.
The remarkable showing was highlighted by incredible individual performances by Koda Holeman (third, 125 pounds), Andre Gonzales (fourth, 149), Anthony Berg (sixth, 157), Cash Stewart (sixth, 174), Trevor Tinker (sixth, 285) and Aiden Simmons (eighth, 141), who all placed in their respective weight classes. The six placers bested their previous program record at the tournament of three set in 2023.
The Mustangs finished with 82 team points at the two-day tournament, ending the event one point behind third-place Bucknell and 11 points behind first-place Rutgers (93). The fourth-place team finish bested the program’s previous best finish at the historic tournament of 11th in 2010.
It was a true team effort as eleven of the 12 Mustangs that wrestled in the tourney earned at least one victory with seven securing multiple wins.
Holeman led the way with a third-place finish at 125 pounds, tied for the highest individual finish by a Mustang ever at Midlands and the best since Boris Novachkov won the 141-pound title in 2010. Last year, Holeman finished one victory short of placing at Midlands and earlier this month at the prestigious Cliff Keen Invitational the redshirt junior took fifth. The No. 1 seed in the tournament, Holeman won his first three matches before dropping a tight 6-5 decision to Pitt’s Tyler Chappell in the semifinals. The 17th-ranked 125-pounder rebounded with back-to-back victories to finish with a 5-1 record at the tourney and improve to 14-3 this season.
Holeman was one of two Mustangs to make it to the semifinals at Midlands and one of five quarterfinalists for the team.
Tinker was the other semifinalist for the Mustangs, securing sixth at heavyweight at the tournament for the second time in his career (2023). The graduate student cruised to the semis with a pair of technical fall victories by a combined 38-4 scoreline to open his showing. However, in the semifinals against No. 24 ranked Hunter Catka from Rutgers, Tinker suffered an injury mid-match that forced him to injury default. The 23rd-ranked heavyweight medically forfeited his next two matches to end his tourney.
Gonzales, a transfer from Ohio State, had a stellar showing at 149 pounds. Seeded No. 28 out of the 32 wrestlers in his weight class, Gonzales opened the tournament with a first-round upset victory over No. 5 seed Andrew Clark, a graduate student from Rutgers who was wrestling unattached. He earned a 14-3 major decision over Clark, who was ranked No. 24 in the latest FloWrestling individual rankings.
Gonzales dropped a 9-6 decision in his Round of 16 match before reeling off five straight victories to earn himself a spot in the third-place match at 149 pounds. Two of those five wins were by sudden victory. The San Diego native ultimately finished fourth with a 6-2 record, improving to 14-7 on the year.
Berg had an even more improbable run to a placing position at Midlands. As lowest seed at 157 pounds, the redshirt freshman opened the tournament with a massive upset, dethroning No. 1 seed Mason Shrader from Central Michigan, ranked No. 22 in the country. Berg pinned him less than a minute into the third period.
Berg followed up that upset with another in the second round, pinning SIUE’s Eric Almarinez at 4:16. He lost his quarterfinal match but bounced back with two more wins in the consolation bracket to place sixth in his weight class, improving to 13-6 on the year.
Stewart also finished sixth in his weight class. After losing to No. 31-ranked Sergio Desiante from Virginia Tech to open his showing at Midlands, Stewart won four consecutive matches to secure a placing position at 174 pounds. Stewart went 4-3 at the tourney with all three of his defeats coming at the hands of nationally ranked opponents. This is the second major tournament Stewart has placed in this month after taking seventh at the Cliff Keen.
Simmons was the final placer for the Mustangs at Midlands, capturing eighth at 141 pounds. The true freshman went 3-3, winning by bonus points in all three of his victories.
Fellow freshmen Levi Bussey also had a strong showing, posting a 2-2 record at 197 pounds to move to 10-3 on the year. Zeth Romney (141), Luke Gayer (165), Cole Jackson (197) and Wesley Wilson (197) all recorded one victory at the tournament.
Following its final major tournament of the regular season, Cal Poly returns to dual action on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. when they host Duke inside Mott Athletics Center.
Ken Kraft Midlands Championships
Cal Poly Results
125
No. 17 Koda Holeman (CP) fall Drew Hansen (Michigan State), 4:27 (13-2)
No. 17 Koda Holeman (CP) dec. Adam Mattin (Stanford), 7-4
No. 17 Koda Holeman (CP) dec. Logan Brzozowski (Harvard), 4-3
Tyler Chappell (PITT) dec. No. 17 Koda Holeman (CP), 6-5
No. 17 Koda Holeman (CP) dec. Matt Marlow (PITT), 8-2
No. 17 Koda Holeman (CP) medical forfeit Christian Castillo (Iowa State)
141
No. 6 Zeth Romney (CP) dec. Drew Gorman (Virginia Tech), 8-4
Anthony Santaniello (Pitt) dec. No. 6 Zeth Romney (CP), 4-2
Eren Sement (Michigan) medical forfeit over No. 6 Zeth Romney (CP)
Aiden Simmons (CP) fall Dante Frinzi (Harvard), 3:58 (7-3)
Aiden Simmons (CP) maj. Danny Martinez (SIUE), 13-3
No. 25 Henry Porter (Indiana) fall Aiden Simmons (CP), 6:54 (5-3)
Aiden Simmons (CP) maj. Kole Brower (Illinois), 14-6
No. 27 Billy Dekraker (Northwestern) dec. Aiden Simmons (CP), 10-4
Eren Sement (Michigan) dec. Aiden Simmons (CP), 4-0
149
Andre Gonzales (CP) maj. No. 24 Andrew Clark (Rutgers), 14-3
Jack Crook (Harvard) dec. Andre Gonzales (CP), 9-6
Andre Gonzales (CP) fall Evan Gosz (Michigan State), 1:53 (3-0)
Andre Gonzales (CP) dec. Antonio Alvarado (Illinois), SV 4-1
Andre Gonzales (CP) dec. Joey Buttler (Indiana), 11-5
Andre Gonzales (CP) dec. Maddox Shaw (Ohio State), SV 4-1
Andre Gonzales (CP) dec. Ethen Miller (Virginia Tech), 4-2
Sergio Lemley (Michigan) maj. Andre Gonzales (CP), 11-0
157
Anthony Berg (CP) fall No. 22 Mason Shrader (Central Michigan), 5:46 (7-1)
Anthony Berg (CP) fall Eric Almarinez (SIUE), 4:16 (4-0)
No. 31 Bryce Lowery (Indiana) maj. Anthony Berg (CP), 15-2
Anthony Berg (CP) tech fall Josh Hillard (Franklin & Marshall), 20-5 (7:00)
Anthony Berg (CP) dec. Eric Almarinez (SIUE), 8-3
CJ Hamblin (Oregon State) dec. Anthony Berg (CP), 10-3
Kal Miller (Maryland) maj. Anthony Berg (CP), 11-3
Landen Johnson (NIU) dec. Jagger French (CP), 8-5
Keller Rock (Oregon State) dec. Jagger French (CP), 3-0
165
Luke Gayer (CP) dec. Pat Downing (Ohio State), 12-9
No. 21 Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell) fall Luke Gayer (CP), 4:16 (3-3)
Justin Gates (Michigan) maj. Luke Gayer (CP), 9-0
174
No. 31 Sergio Desiante (VT) maj. Cash Stewart (CP), 14-6
Cash Stewart (CP) dec. Brady Collins (Lehigh), 9-2
Cash Stewart (CP) dec. Magnus Kuokkanen (Indiana), 4-1
Cash Stewart (CP) dec. Richie Grungo (Lehigh), 7-2
Cash Stewart (CP) dec. Jordan Chapman (Rutgers), SV 10-7
No. 31 Sergio Desiante (Virginia Tech) maj. Cash Stewart (CP), 12-4
No. 28 Eddie Enright (Northwestern) dec. Cash Stewart (CP), 8-4
197
Levi Bussey (CP) dec. Dylan Connell (Illinois), 7-4
PJ Casale (Rutgers) maj. Levi Bussey (CP), 18-9
Levi Bussey (CP) fall Mason Pellegri (Harvard), 0:46 (6-1)
Alex Smith (Northwestern) dec. Levi Bussey (CP), 9-3
Cole Jackson (CP) dec. Dylan Greenstein (Harvard), 10-3
No. 13 Gabe Sollars (Indiana) tech fall Cole Jackson (CP), 15-0 (3:57)
Xander Myers (Ohio State) dec. Cole Jackson (CP), 11-4
Jude Correa fall Wesley Wilson (CP), 2:10 (6-1)
Wesley Wilson (CP) maj. Daniel Jezik (NIU), 15-4
Dylan Connell (Illinois) tech fall Wesley Wilson (CP), 16-1 (2:57)
285
No. 23 Trevor Tinker (CP) tech fall Logan Bender (NIU), 21-2 (2:37)
No. 23 Trevor Tinker (CP) tech fall Bryan Caves (Central Michigan), 17-2 (6:08)
No. 24 Hunter Catka (Rutgers) injury default No. 23 Trevor Tinker (CP), 5-1 (6:18)
Parker Ferrell (Virginia Tech) medical forfeit No. 23 Trevor Tinker (CP)
Bryan Caves (Central Michigan) medical forfeit No. 23 Trevor Tinker (CP)
