19 Feb 2025 Little Rock crowned back-to-back conference dual-meet champions
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Little Rock captured back-to-back Pac-12 Dual Meet Champ titles today, finishing their West Coast road swing with a pair of wins against North Dakota State and conference foes CSU-Bakersfield.
“Back-to-back is awesome. Really excited for the guys,” said head coach Neil Erisman. “We had a tough season where a lot of people had to fill in and wrestle. So many of the guys stepped up and made this happen. It’s a huge team effort and I’m really proud of who we have become. “While the first match of the day started off slower for the Trojans, wins from 149 pounds through 174 pounds (plus clutch bonus points from Matty Bianchi and Stephen Little) gave the team the 21-16 victory over North Dakota State.
Little Rock then turned around to face the hosts a couple of hours later and looked dominant against CSU-Bakersfield, collecting wins from 133 through 197. All eight wins were from bonus points, as the Trojans took home five technical falls as well as a major decision, pin, and forfeit. The team’s 41-6 overall score against the Roadrunners also marked the highest team points ever scored in their four meetings.
Including Friday night’s Pac-12 win against Cal Poly, Matty Bianchi came away with a solid weekend for the Trojans, going 3-0 with bonus point wins in every match.
“Matty B is a machine,” added Coach Erisman. “His progress has been amazing to watch. Crazy excited about his upcoming postseason and what we believe he will do.”
Nasir Bailey, Joseph Bianchi, and Tyler Brennan also walked away with three victorious matches in California. Meanwhile, Stephen Little was undefeated as well in the two matches he appeared in while Jordan Williams had a perfect day on Sunday in Bakersfield.
Notably, Tyler Brennan surpassed 70 career wins for the Trojans this weekend. He picked up his fifth pin of the season against the Roadrunners, the 18th fall of his career, to hit 71 wins. Fellow sixth-year Joseph Bianchi is not far behind with 68 career dubs.
“Tyler has been a staple of this program since day one,” commented Coach Erisman, “So I’m not shocked he’s reached that number. Through the ups and downs, he’s stayed consistent and I’m really happy for him.”
The Trojans set a new program-high dual victories and win percentage this season, claiming 17 for .850 – two more dual wins than last year. With the regular season concluded, Little Rock now eyes the Pac-12 Championships and NCAA Tournament next month. The conference tournament will be at Oregon State on March 6 while the NCAA Championships are taking place in Philadelphia from March 20-22.
Box Score: #15 Little Rock 21, North Dakota State 16
125: Tristan Daugherty (North Dakota State) over Jayden Carson (Little Rock) (MD 18-5)
133: Nasir Bailey (Little Rock) over Kyle Burwick (North Dakota State) (Dec 9-6)
141: Michael Olson (North Dakota State) over Brennan Van Hoecke (Little Rock) (SV-1 4-1)
149: Jordan Williams (Little Rock) over Gavin Drexler (North Dakota State) (Dec 9-5)
157: Matty Bianchi (Little Rock) over Maxwell Petersen (North Dakota State) (MD 14-3)
165: Joseph Bianchi (Little Rock) over Boeden Greenley (North Dakota State) (Dec 12-6)
174: Tyler Brennan (Little Rock) over Devin Wasley (North Dakota State) (Dec 6-3)
184: Aidan Brenot (North Dakota State) over Brock DelSignore (Little Rock) (Fall 4:15)
197: Stephen Little (Little Rock) over Tayshaun Glover (North Dakota State) (TF 20-3 2:53)
285: Andrew Blackburn-Forst (North Dakota State) over Branson Britten (Little Rock) (Dec 4-2)
Box Score: #15 Little Rock 41, CSU-Bakersfield 6
125: Richard Castro-Sandoval (CSU Bakersfield) over Jayden Carson (Little Rock) (Dec 3-0)
133: Nasir Bailey (Little Rock) over Santino Sanchez (CSU Bakersfield) (MD 14-2)
141: Brennan Van Hoecke (Little Rock) over Hayden Zinkin (CSU Bakersfield) (TF 16-1 7:00)
149: Jordan Williams (Little Rock) over Brock Rogers (CSU Bakersfield) (TF 17-1 6:33)
157: Matty Bianchi (Little Rock) over Jose Farias (CSU Bakersfield) (TF 18-3 4:08)
165: Joseph Bianchi (Little Rock) over Evan Manzo (CSU Bakersfield) (TF 16-1 7:00)
174: Tyler Brennan (Little Rock) over Coen Quintana (CSU Bakersfield) (Fall 2:10)
184: Brock DelSignore (Little Rock) over Chris Neal (CSU Bakersfield) (TF 16-1 4:43)
197: Stephen Little (Little Rock) over Unknown (For.)
285: Jake Andrews (CSU Bakersfield) over KJ Miley (Little Rock) (Dec 5-1)
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