Revising the Rankings
1/31/2014 3:48:00 AM | Wrestling
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – This season, the NCAA Division II rankings have not been in California Baptist University's favor. Like they've seemingly done all season long, the Lancers used another chance to prove the rankings wrong Thursday.
Facing Colorado Mesa University, which is tied for 13th in the NCAA Division II rankings, CBU won seven of the 10 matches en route to a comfortable 31-10 victory in the Van Dyne Gym. The Lancers, who are receiving votes but still unranked in their division in one poll but slotted eighth in the Bansford rankings, improved to 10-3-1, 2-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Mavericks slipped to 7-3, 2-1.
“They're a tough team, no doubt, and it's certainly a big win,” head coach Lennie Zalesky said. “Every win is big but whenever you beat someone at the top it's a good thing.”
Bryden Lazaro and Brady Bersano, who are respectively ranked first and second individually in their weight classes, stayed in strong form with lopsided victories. Taylor Hall provided the only pin of the night, while the newest Lancer – Jacob Mitchell – cruised to an 11-3 win in his home debut.
Alec Smith and Kenneth Tribble each provided the Lancers with decision wins and Caleb Gerl won on a forfeit.
CBU grabbed the first 10 points of the night as Lazaro, a 125-pounder, opened things up with a 10-2 major decision over Macario Borrego. Hall (133) then pinned Colby Christensen with 1:19 left in the match.
The Mavericks managed to keep things interesting, however, putting the dual score to 10-6 on a pair of decision victories at 141 and 149.
Bersano helped the CBU faithful breathe a little easier when he teched Trevor Donarski, 17-2, after four minutes, 31 seconds of riding time was added to his score at the end of the 157 bout.
Smith, who came into the night unranked, grabbed perhaps the biggest win of the night. The 165-pounder exemplified CBU's performance as a whole, as he outperformed his ranking for a 6-0 win over Jessie Hoffschneider, who is individually ranked fourth in NCAA Division II.
“Smith's win kind of put a cap on it because of the forfeit at 184,” Zalesky said. “We were up 12, I didn't think we'd lose heavyweight and I knew the other two matches would be a battle.”
CMU won the first of those battles to pull within eight, 18-10, but that major-decision victory ensured CBU would walk away with a victory after the forfeit gave it a 14-point edge with two matches left.
Tribble and Mitchell did not let up, though. After trailing 7-3 in the second period of the 197 match, Tribble rebounded for an 11-8 victory. Mitchell improved to a perfect 5-0 so far this season, as the transfer defeated heavyweight Jordan Passehl, 11-3.
CBU hits the road Saturday and heads up to San Francisco State for the California Collegiate Open. It returns for its final two duals of the year at home on Feb. 6th and 14th against Cal State Bakersfield and SF State at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., respectively.
“I just hope to come out of this weekend healthy and hope some of our guys can crawl up the rankings individually,” Zalesky said. “We have two big matches coming up at the end of the year here.”
