BAKERSFIELD, Calif.--CSU Bakersfield defeated San Francisco State 42-3 before an upset bid of No. 10/14 Rutgers was turned away by the Scarlet Knights 26-15 Friday night in the Icardo Center.
The Roadrunners began the night with a 42-3 victory against the Gators. Opening at 184, CSUB wrestlers, Dylan Bollinger, Matt Williams (197), and Alex Encarnarcion-Strand (285) recorded three consecutive pins.
Sean Nickell earned the first decision of the dual when he defeated former teammate Matt Gamble 3-1 at 125 pounds. Nate Cervantez's takedown with 45 seconds remaining in the third period was the difference as he defeated Carlos Herrera 3-2 in the 133-pound bout.
Russell Rohlfing defeated Joshua Weinberg by a score of 16-5 at 141. Coleman Hammond posted a technical fall against Dylan Furtado in the 149-pound match. Hammond earned the tech fall with one second remaining in the first period 19-3. Sean O'Rourke was victorious at 157 pounds when he defeated Landon Myers 7-3.
Lorenzo De La Riva earned four points for the Roadrunners with a 16-3 decision over Tyson Kuahine. Matt Penyacsek wrapped up the dual for CSUB with a major decision (19-4) against Jesse Lyga.
In the nightcap, Rutgers rallied to take the final three matches and come away with at 26-15 victory at the expense of CSU Bakersfield.
No. 15 Nicholas Gravina broke the seal for the Scarlet Knights with a pin (93 seconds) of Bollinger at 184. Williams tied the dual with a pin of Matthew Correnti at the 2:28 mark of the 197-pound bout. Encarnarcion-Strand put the 'Runners into the lead 9-6 when he defeated Razonnn Gross at heavyweight 6-2.
Nickell extended the lead to six for the Roadrunners when he defeated Sean McCabe 8-1 at 125. No. 15 Tyson Dippley cut the CSUB advantage to one, 12-11, with a tech fall over Herrera in the 133-pound match. No. 3 Anthony Ashnault jumped out to a 10-0 lead and held on to defeat Rohlfing 17-5 at 141.
Hammond tied the dual at 15 when he shutout Anthony Giraldo 3-0 in the 149-pound match. Ken Theobold, ranked 13th at 149 pounds bumped up to 157 to face O'Rourke. Theobold used an escape in the second and rode O'Rourke out in the third for a 2-0 victory.
John Van Brill defeated De La Riva 10-3 in the 165-pound matchup before Phillip Bakuckas charted a technical fall of Penyacsek in only 3:03 of the 174-pound bout.
“I think we came to wrestle and we showed a lot of fight,” said CSUB head coach Manny Rivera. “We had a lot of momentum going into the final three matches against Rutgers, but we need to learn to how to finish stronger. Matt Williams set off the run of victories, he is what got the momentum on our side. He is a captain for a reason.”
CSUB hosts the Roadrunner Open next Sunday in Fresno at Clovis North High School. In addition to the 'Runners, scheduled to compete are Army, Boise State, Cal Poly, Menlo, Oregon State, Purdue, San Francisco State, Sierra College, and Stanford.
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