California Baptist University
Roadrunner Open
Lancers Log Nine Top-Six Finishes at Roadrunner Open, With Raya Taking Gold
11/21/2021 8:32:00 PM | Wrestling
The Lancers produced an individual champion in AJ Raya and a third-place finisher in Arick Lopez at 157 and 197 pounds, respectively. Chris Island finished in fourth place in the heavyweight bracket, while five CBU wrestlers: Devin Garcia (125), Zachary Rowe (157), Caden Gerlach (184) and Jacob Smith (heavyweight) took fifth place in their respective weight classes. Hunter Leake (133) and Chaz Hallmark (149) both took sixth place.
Congratulations to AJ Raya on winning the 2021 Roadrunner Open 157-pound championship. It's his second-straight title at the Roadrunner Open. #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/FowoqaMpCX
— California Baptist Wrestling (@CBUwrestling) November 22, 2021
Raya went 4-0 on the day to bring his record to 5-1 this season to win his second-straight title at the Roadrunner Open after first winning the 149-pound bracket in 2019. He started his day with a 17-1 technical fall over CSU Bakersfield's Josh McMilon and then pinned an unattached Joey Mora before he won his final match on a 3-2 decision against San Francisco State's Mason Boutain. He won the tournament title thanks to an injury default.
AJ Raya went 4⃣-0⃣ en route to the Roadrunner Open 157-pound championship. He opened a technical fall and pin before picking up a 3-2 decision in the semis before taking the crown with an injury default. #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/qjkgmkxCNT
— California Baptist Wrestling (@CBUwrestling) November 22, 2021
Lopez nearly knocked off the 197-pound champion, an unattached Jack Forbes, in an 8-6 overtime loss in his first match. He bounced back with a decision win over Elijah Sobas and then defeated an unattached Cole Jackson of Utah Valley 10-4, thanks to five takedowns.
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— California Baptist Wrestling (@CBUwrestling) November 22, 2021
Arick Lopez secures third place in the 197-pound bracket at the Roadrunner Open, with a 10-4 win (thanks to five takedowns) in his final match. He finishes the week with a 3-1 record. #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/z6mvk1rvl8
Island opened his day back-to-back pins before he lost a 5-0 decision to an unattached Trevor Tinker. He rebounded with a 51-second pin before dropping another close 4-2 decision in overtime to Joseph Nava in the third-place match.
Chris Island took fourth place at the Roadrunner Open. The heavyweight won all three of his matches with pins 💪💪💪#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/UpU7CRclid
— California Baptist Wrestling (@CBUwrestling) November 22, 2021
Garcia went 3-2 on the day, with two victories via pin on Sunday, including one in the fifth-place match. Rowe was 4-2 on Sunday with two technical falls, an overtime and injury default victory to his credit. Gerlach went 4-2 with three bonus point wins on a pin and two major decisions, including an 11-2 win in his final bout. Smith put together a 4-2 run, as well, with three decisions and a 13-4 major decision win in the fifth-place match.
Leake won his first two matches on Sunday before he lost another close decision to Utah Valley's 28th-ranked Haiden Drury. He defaulted his last two matches after that to take sixth place. Hallmark went 4-3 on the day and won four-straight matches with a major decision, pin and consecutive decisions, including one in overtime and another 2-1 decision. He lost his next match and forfeited his final match, as well.
Players Mentioned
