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David Dennis/All-Star Sports Photography

Wrestling

Rohlfing Leads `Runners at Cliff Keen Invitational



Bakersfield, Calif. – Senior Russell Rohlfing set the pace for CSU Bakersfield posting a 3-1 record and advancing to compete on Saturday at the Cliff Keen Invitational. Six other Roadrunners posted at least one victory and four wrestlers advanced to the Round of 16, but for the most part the `Runners saw their luck ran out late in the morning session of the Las Vegas, Nev., tournament.
 
"Russell wrestled great today," said CSUB Head Coach Manny Rivera. "He bounced back well from a tough loss and built more momentum with each bout."
 
Rohlfing (149 lbs) made quick work of Harvard's Aaron Kruk and opened the tournament with a 16-0 victory. He got off to a slow start in his second-round match but put together an excellent third period and battled all the way back to 11-9, before running out of time against #5 Collin Purinton of Nebraska.
 
Rohlfing rebounded in the consolation bracket, advancing past Kent State's Kody Komara (10-4) and Michigan's Benjamin Lamantia (6-3) to set up a quarterfinal match-up with #10 Brock Zacherl of Clarion on Saturday morning.
 
Rohlfing and Zacherl have met twice before, splitting a pair of decisions. Most recently, the Clarion wrestler snuck past his CSUB counterpart, 8-7, at last year's Cliff Keen Invite.
 
The rest of the Roadrunner performances were a mixed bag.
 
"We had some good performances and we also left some potential wins on the mat," Rivera added. "We need to execute and finish better than we did today."
 
Chance Rich (133 lbs) got the `Runners off to a quick start winning his opening match with a pin of Grand Canyon's Josiah Griego just 1:28 into the first period. It was the second victory by fall this season for the freshman. His first came in dramatic fashion, when he pinned #11 Sammy Alvarez of Rutgers in CSUB's home opening dual meet.
 
Rich followed up his first-round victory with a hard-fought loss at the hands of #21 Collin Gerardi of Virginia Tech in the Round of 16. The pair were tied at two points apiece at the end of regulation, but Gerardi picked up the additional point for ride time and advanced to the quarterfinals.  
 
Alex Hernandez-Figueroa, Noah Blakley-Beanes, Jacob Thalin, Dominic Ducharme and Jarrod Snyder all added victories for the `Runners who currently sit in 25th place with 12.5 points, as a team.
 
Thalin (165 lbs) was impressive in an opening round victory over a ranked opponent, knocking off #26 Richard Stamm of Hofstra, 8-5.
 
Hernandez-Figueroa (125 lbs) and Ducharme (197 lbs) were dominant in their second matches of the day. Hernandez-Figueroa blanked Hofstra's Matthew Templeton, 8-0, while Ducharme pinned Sacred Heart's Robert Hetherman after just 3:51 of elapsed time.   
 
Ducharme nearly pulled out a first-round upset against #10 Eric Schultz of Nebraska. Ducharme battled back from a 5-2 deficit to square the match at the end of regulation but lost the riding time point and fell, 6-5.
 
Blakley-Beanes (141 lbs) out-dueled Wyoming's Chase Zollman for a 7-3 victory and Snyder (285 lbs) topped Jack Heyob of Northwestern, 7-2.
 
Rohlfing will be the `Runners loan representative on day two of the tournament as he looks to secure at least a top-eight finish in the 149 lbs weight class.
 
The rest of the `Runners will be back in action at the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn., on New Year's Day.  
 
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Players Mentioned

Noah Blakley-Beanes

Noah Blakley-Beanes

141
5' 9"
Redshirt Senior
Dominic Ducharme

Dominic Ducharme

197
6' 0"
Redshirt Junior
Alejandro Hernandez

Alejandro Hernandez

125
5' 5"
Redshirt Junior
Chance Rich

Chance Rich

133
5' 7"
Redshirt Freshman
Russell Rohlfing

Russell Rohlfing

149
5' 10"
Redshirt Senior
Jarrod Snyder

Jarrod Snyder

285
6' 3"
Redshirt Junior
Jacob Thalin

Jacob Thalin

165
6' 0"
Redshirt Senior

Players Mentioned

Noah Blakley-Beanes

Noah Blakley-Beanes

5' 9"
Redshirt Senior
141
Dominic Ducharme

Dominic Ducharme

6' 0"
Redshirt Junior
197
Alejandro Hernandez

Alejandro Hernandez

5' 5"
Redshirt Junior
125
Chance Rich

Chance Rich

5' 7"
Redshirt Freshman
133
Russell Rohlfing

Russell Rohlfing

5' 10"
Redshirt Senior
149
Jarrod Snyder

Jarrod Snyder

6' 3"
Redshirt Junior
285
Jacob Thalin

Jacob Thalin

6' 0"
Redshirt Senior
165
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