Northern Illinois
Cal Poly Wrestling Hosts NIU, No. 15 Little Rock on Friday
2/13/2025 3:00:00 PM | Wrestling
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Cal Poly wrestling team is back inside Mott Athletics Center this Friday to host its final two home duals of the season.
The Mustangs (4-7, 0-1 Pac-12) battle Northern Illinois first at 5:30 p.m. before capping the night against Pac-12 rival and No. 15-ranked Little Rock at 7 p.m. Prior to the dual against the Huskies, Cal Poly will honor its seven seniors at 5:10 p.m. — Josh Harkey, Abe Hinrichsen, Cole Jackson, Kendall La Rosa, Jarad Priest, Trevor Tinker and Wesley Wilson.
Tickets to the home finale doubleheader can be purchased HERE. The dual will be streamed live on the Cal Poly X/Twitter account (@CalPolyWrestle) and on FloWrestling with Mike Malinconico on the call.
LAST TIME ON THE MAT: On Friday night, Cal Poly will be looking to rebound from a hard-fought 23-12 defeat to rival Oregon State in its Pac-12 opener last Friday. Despite the defeat, several Mustangs had some stellar individual performances in front of an electric home crowd.
Redshirt sophomore Koda Holeman helped the Mustangs get off to a strong start in the dual by scoring an upset victory over 11th-ranked Maximo Renteria at 125 pounds. With the match tied 1-1 after three periods, Holeman secured a takedown just over a minute into overtime to grab a 4-1 decision to improve to 17-8 overall this season and 9-2 in duals.
Graduate student Legend Lamer earned an upset win in the dual as well, defeating No. 25-ranked CJ Hamblin at 157 pounds by a 2-1 decision thanks to 1:44 of riding time.
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS: Thanks to his performance last Friday against the Beavers, Legend jumped back into the national rankings this week, allowing Cal Poly to carry six nationally ranked wrestlers into its two home duals on Friday night.
Redshirt sophomore Zeth Romney continues to lead the charge, remaining at No. 2 nationally at 133 pounds in the latest InterMat rankings. Romney did not wrestle last week against Oregon State, but is expected to take the mat in both duals Friday. Romney boasts an impressive 12-1 record this season and a 4-1 mark in duals. The Simi Valley, Calif. native carries an eight-match winning streak into the duals this week and has defeated eight nationally-ranked opponents this season. Romney, who hasn’t lost a match since Nov. 16, won the 133-pound title at the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December, defeating four nationally ranked opponents en route to becoming the first Mustang in 15 years to capture a championship in that weight class at the tournament. The showing helped him garner Pac-12 Wrestler of the Week honors for the fourth time in his career and second time this season.
Redshirt junior Chance Lamer is the next highest ranked Mustang, checking in at No. 8 nationally at 149 pounds. Chance suffered his first defeat of the season in the dual with Oregon State, dropping a tight 4-2 decision to No. 16 Ethan Stiles. Chance is 11-1 overall this season and 8-1 in duals.
Redshirt junior Trevor Tinker has been dominating his opponents at heavyweight all season long and is currently ranked No. 22 in the country. Tinker, 18-5 overall and 9-1 in duals this year, has secured a team-high 26 takedowns in duals this season, earning four wins by technical fall, three by major decision and two by pin. He is currently on an eight-match winning streak.
Redshirt junior Luka Wick is ranked 25th at 165 pounds with a 9-5 record, Holeman is No. 29 at 125 pounds and Legend is No. 30 at 157 pounds with an 11-8 record overall.
TOP 15 STANGS: For several weeks, Cal Poly held a national ranking of 15th in the country in the InterMat Team Tournament rankings, marking the program’s highest national ranking in three years. On Feb. 22, 2022, the Mustangs checked in at No. 10 in the same rankings, marking the first time in 39 years the program achieved a top 10 ranking. Cal Poly is currently No. 22 in the rankings. This marks the fifth straight season Cal Poly has achieved a top 25 national ranking as a team.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES: Northern Illinois owns a 5-3 record in duals this season and is 5-1 in the Mid-American Conference. The Huskies have won their last three duals, including a 28-8 home victory over Buffalo last Friday. NIU has one nationally-ranked wrestler — No. 18 Blake West at 125 pounds. Friday’s dual will mark the third all-time meeting between the Mustangs and the Huskies and the first since Cal Poly defeated NIU 28-6 in Illinois on Jan. 30, 2022.
PAC-12 SHOWDOWN: Friday night’s dual will be an eagerly anticipated rematch between the Mustangs and the 15th-ranked Trojans. Just over a month ago, Cal Poly and Little Rock squared off in Iowa in the quarterfinals of the NWCA National Duals, with the Mustangs coming up just short 22-19 in a thrilling battle. Cal Poly and Little Rock split the 10 bouts in the dual — each winning five — but the Trojans were able to pick up bonus points at several weights to edge out the Mustangs. In that dual, Romney pinned Little Rock’s Nasir Bailey at 4:14. Bailey won the Pac-12 title at 133 pounds last year and placed fourth at the 2024 NCAA Championships to earn All-American honors. Romney, No. 2 in the country, and Bailey, ranked No. 8, are set to square off again Friday.
Friday’s dual will feature four ranked versus ranked matchups at 133, 149, 157 and 165 pounds. Little Rock — the defending Pac-12 dual meet champions — has had a strong season thus far, owning a 14-3 overall record and a 1-0 mark in Pac-12 duals. Just like the Mustangs, the Trojans boast six nationally ranked wrestlers. Little Rock defeated Oregon State 29-14 three weeks ago and is fresh off a 25-13 home loss to No. 2 Oklahoma State this past Saturday.
UP NEXT: Following Friday’s two duals in Mott, Cal Poly travels to Pac-12 foe Cal State Bakersfield on Sunday, Feb. 23, to wrap up its regular season.
Probable Lineups
Cal Poly (4-7, 0-1 Pac-12)
125: No. 30/29 Koda Holeman (17-8, 9-2 Duals) OR Zeke Vela (4-5, 0-0 Duals)
133: No. 2/4 Zeth Romney (12-1, 4-1 Duals)
141: Caleb Park (2-8, 0-4 Duals)
149: No. 9/8 Chance Lamer (11-1, 8-1 Duals) OR Gavin Fernandez (6-6, 0-1 Duals)
157: No. 33/30 Legend Lamer (11-8, 6-4 Duals)
165: No. 25/28 Luka Wick (9-5, 7-2 Duals) OR Anthony Berg (11-6, 0-0 Duals)
174: Cash Stewart (8-9, 1-5 Duals) OR Kendall La Rosa (0-3, 0-1 Duals)
184: Daschle Lamer (10-7, 3-3 Duals)
197: Tyler Hodges (7-10, 0-5 Duals) OR Wesley Wilson (3-5, 2-1 Duals) OR Josh Harkey (7-5, 0-0 Duals)
285: No. 22/24 Trevor Tinker (18-5, 9-1 Duals)
Northern Illinois (5-3)
125: No. 18/25 Blake West
133: Markel Baker
141: Jacob Brya
149: Collin Arch
157: Landen Johnson
165: Brett Smith
174: Tommy Bennett
184: Austin Stewart
197: Sean Carroll
285: Jacob Christensen
No. 15 Little Rock (14-3, 1-0 Pac-12)
125: Jayden Carson OR Reid Nelson
133: No. 9/8 Nasir Bailey
141: Brennan Van Hoecke or Cole Minnick
149: No. 13/12 Jordan Williams
157: No. 12/19 Matty Bianchi
165: No. 33/31 Joseph Bianchi OR Nico Lozano
174: Tyler Brennan
184: No. 16/15 Brock DelSignore OR Triston Wills
197: No. 7/6 Stephen Little
285: Branson Britten OR KJ Miley
InterMat/FloWrestling rankings
