California Baptist University
Cal Poly
CBU Wins Fourth-Straight Dual with Road Win over #20 Cal Poly on Thursday Night
12/19/2024 8:19:00 PM | Wrestling
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA--- The California Baptist wrestling team earned another ranked win on Thursday evening as they bested the Cal Poly Mustangs 22-16 to improve to 5-2 in duals.
The win is the first in the BIG 12 era against the Mustangs for CBU and the first time they have defeated the PAC-12 foe at the Mott Center since December of 2018. The win is the second-ranked victory of the season, with Cal Poly coming ranked #20 in the team tournament rankings by InterMat and #23 according to FloWrestling.
The dual began at 125 lbs, with the Mustangs starting off strong with a second-period fall to take the 6-0 lead out of the gates. CBU would get on the board in the next bout with true freshman Damian Alvarez making his collegiate dual debut at 133lbs. Alvarez rode Caleb Park for the entirety of the second period to carry momentum into the final frame. Alvarez would register an escape in the third period and collect his riding time point to earn the 3-0 decision victory.
Up next was the reigning BIG 12 Wrestler of the Week, Elijah Griffin, going up against Korbin Shepherd at 141lbs. Griffin dominated the match, scoring in three ways to register the 10-0 major decision victory and putting the Lancers in front for the first time in the dual. The win marked the second straight dual in which Griffin had not relinquished a single point against his opponent, and this will likely help him continue to climb the rankings after coming into match #27. Paul Kelly tacked on three more points for CBU with a clutch third-period takedown of Jagger French to bring the score to 10-6 in favor of the road team.
The Mustangs would retake the lead with a technical fall at 157lbs via three-time national qualifier Legend Lamer, besting Darren Green in his season debut at 157lbs. CBU would strike back in the next bout as Mason Espinoza made his dual debut in 2024-25 against Cash Stewart. It was a rematch for Espinoza and Stewart after meeting in the Roadrunner Open when Stewart would defeat Espinoza en route to winning the title at 165lbs. This time around, Espinoza would get the better of Stewart with a clutch performance in the third period. Trailing 4-1, Espinoza would score a reversal and then immediately cut Stewart to give himself a chance to win. Espinoza would get in on a single-leg and finish the shot with the takedown in the final seconds to put three more on the scoreboard.
The next match was similarly tight as Carter Schmidt would battle Kendall La Rosa. With the score knotted at one apiece with ten seconds on the clock, Schmidt fended a barrage of shots from La Rosa and then went on the offensive attack and connected on a shot as the timer expired. The officials would go to video replay and affirm their call to give Schmidt the 4-1 decision over La Rosa. One of the featured matches of the evening would come up next at 184lbs, with Nathan Hass taking on #33 Daschle Lamer. Haas would also execute some third-period heroics for the Lancers, breaking the stalemate with Lamer with a takedown to claim the 8-5 lead and bring CBU a step closer to the road victory.
It would be Eli Sheeren who secured the dual for the Lancers at 197lbs as he avenged his loss at Roadrunner Open to Jarad Priest. Sheeren would win 3-0 against the 2x Pac-12 placer and put CBU ahead 22-11. The Mustangs would earn a technical fall at heavyweight, but it would not be enough as CBU would earn the 22-16 result for its fourth straight dual victory.
RESULTS:
CBU 22 Cal Poly 16
125: Koda Holeman (Cal Poly) pins Mitchell Neiner (CBU) (4:44)
133: Damian Alvarez (CBU) over Caleb Park (Cal Poly) by decision 3-0
141: #27 Elijah Griffin (CBU) over Korbin Shepherd (Cal Poly) by major decision 10-0
149: Paul Kelly CBU) over Jagger French (Cal Poly) by decision 7-1
157: Legend Lamer (Cal Poly) over Darren Green (CBU) by technical fall (16-0 4:42)
165: Mason Espinoza (CBU) over Cash Stewart (Cal Poly) by decision 6-5
174: Carter Schmidt (CBU) over Kendall La Rosa (Cal Poly) by decision 4-1
184: Nathan Haas (CBU) over #33 Daschle Lamer (Cal Poly) by decision 8-5
197: Eli Sheeren (CBU) over Jarrad Priest (Cal Poly) by decision 3-0
285: #30/33 Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly) over Tristan Kemp (CBU) by technical fall (17-1 5:11)
NEXT: The Lancers will compete at the Reno Tournament of Champions on Sunday, December 22.
Players Mentioned
