BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -– Four consecutive wins by CSUB wrestlers gave the Roadrunners an 18-10 lead over No. 16 Cal Poly, but the Mustangs finished with three wins to come back for a 22-18 win Wednesday in the Icardo Center.

The dual was the first Pac-10 counter for the Roadrunners, who drop to 0-2 overall and 0-1 in conference action. Cal Poly moves to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the Pac-10.

The night opened with the Mustangs' No. 6 ranked Chase Pami picking up a 15-4 major decision over CSUB redshirt freshman Andrew Balch at 157 lbs. Joey Granata then dominated the 165-pound match to give CSUB three points with a 10-3 decision over Travis Rasmussen. Granata broke a 3-3 tie in the third period with an escape, takedown, three-point nearfall and riding time.

Ryan DesRoches pushed the Cal Poly lead to 10-3 with a late pin against Troy Goodban at 174 lbs. The came the Roadrunner surge, beginning with a 9-5 decision victory by Mike Larson over Tyler Holt at 184 lbs. The redshirt freshman went up 4-2 in the first period with a pair of takedown. He added another takedown in the second, but led just 6-5 after a “locked hands” warning and a pair of escapes by Holt. Larson chose the down position to start the third and quickly escaped, then added a takedown in the final 15 seconds to secure his win.

At 197 lbs., CSUB's Riley Orozco win easily over Ryan Smith, 9-4, to cut the Cal Poly lead to 10-9. No. 10 ranked Mitch Monteiro then squeaked out a 3-1 win over Jim Powers at heavyweight. Monteiro had a first-period takedown and an escape to start the third for his three points.

At 125 lbs., CSUB sophomore Frank Lomas got a quick jump on Cal Poly's Micah Ferguson, scoring a takedown and three-point nearfall just over a minute into the match. Ferguson began to battle back in the second, cutting Lomas' lead to 8-5. But the CSUB sophomore turned Ferguson on his back and was awarded a fall just before time expired in the second to give CSUB an 18-10 lead.

Those were the last team points the Roadrunners would score, however, as the top 10 ranked sibling duo of Boris and Filip Novachkov earned wins at 133 lbs. and 141 lbs., respectively, and Eric Maldonado scored a technical fall win at 149 lbs. to give the Mustangs the four-point win.

Boris Novachkov, ranked No. 9 in the latest InterMat poll, won 9-0 over CSUB's Justin Durham, but Elijah Nacita gave No. 8 Filip Novachkov a run for his money at 141 lbs., scoring three points in the final period before falling 7-5.

The Roadrunners return to action Saturday, Dec. 20 when they travel to Reno for the Reno Tournament of Champions. They return to the Icardo Center on Jan. 3 to host Pac-10 rival Arizona State at 2 p.m.

125 – Frank Lomas (CSUB) fall Micah Ferguson (CP), 5:00
133 – No. 9 Boris Novachkov (CP) maj. dec. Justin Durham (CSUB), 9-0
141 – No. 8 Filip Novachkov (CP) dec. Elijah Nacita (CSUB), 7-5
149 – Eric Maldonado (CP) tech. fall Calvin Miller (CSUB), 22-9
157 – No. 6 Chase Pami (CP) maj. dec. Andrew Balch (CSUB), 15-4
165 – Joey Granata (CSUB) dec. Travis Rasmussen (CP), 10-3
174 – Ryan DesRoches (CP) fall Troy Goodban (CSUB), 7:13
184 – Mike Larson (CSUB) dec. Tyler Holt (CP), 9-5
197 – Riley Orozco (CSUB) dec. Ryan Smith (CP), 9-4
HWT – No. 10 Mitch Monteiro (CSUB) dec. Jim Powers (CP), 3-1