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Carlos Herrera
David Dennis / All-Star Sports Photography

Wrestling

CSUB Heads to Arizona for Date with Devils

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – On the heels of a dramatic victory at the Feud on the Field, the CSU Bakersfield wrestling team hasn't rested on its laurels this week as it prepared for a dual with Arizona State on Saturday.

"You just have to start over," said CSUB assistant coach Chad Hanke.  "That win is over.  We are looking forward to the next challenge.  Arizona State is going to be tough and ready to go and we have to do our job to get prepared."

If the Roadrunners emerge victorious, they will finish the year with a 3-1 Pac-12 record and at the top of the regular season standings.

"It's good motivation for our guys," said Hanke. "It just shows that all the hard work we are putting in is paying off and that we are right there at the top of the conference."

Series History
The Sun Devils have dominated the series both recently and all-time.  Arizona State has won the last seven meetings between the two programs and holds a 26-11-1 advantage in 38 previous duals.  CSUB has lost seven straight duals with ASU and their last victory came on January 21, 2011 in Tempe.   
 
Zahid Valencia and Bryan Battisto have met the past two seasons, both of which have gone the national champion's way.  Two seasons ago, Valencia pinned Battisto in the first period and last season defeated him by technical fall, 25-9.  Sean Nickell and Josh Kramer have some history at 133 pounds as well.  Nickell defeated Kramer by technical fall in the third period two seasons ago at the 125 pound weight class in dual action and scored a 7-5 decision to win the Pac-12 title.  Earlier in their careers, Josh Shields earned a 12-3 major decision over Jacob Thalin at 157 pounds.

Scouting the Sun Devils
Arizona's strength lies in the middle weights as 174-pound Zahid Valencia and 165-pound Josh Shields are both ranked in the top five in the country and have just five losses combined.  Valencia is the returning national champion and a two-time All-American, while Shields also earned All-American honors at 157 pounds last season.  Christian Pagdilao is no slouch at 157 pounds and enters Saturday with a 19-7 mark.  Pagdilao qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2015.  

Probable Lineups
 CSU Bakersfield (6-8, 2-1 Pac-12)
Wt. ^Rank Name Yr. Record
125 Eddie Flores Fr. 4-9
133 19/17/- Sean Nickell R-Sr. 20-8
141 Noah Blakley-Beanes R-Jr. 9-5
OR Carlos Herrera R-Jr. 10-14
149 20/-/- Russell Rohlfing R-Jr. 15-9
157 Wyatt Gerl Jr. 8-14
OR Josh Annis R-Jr. 5-6
165 Jacob Thalin R-Jr. 12-13
174 Bryan Battisto R-Sr. 8-10
184 Dominic Ducharme R-So. 19-11
197 Mark Penyacsek R-Jr. 8-15
OR Josh Loomer R-Fr. 5-10
285 Jarrod Snyder R-So. 9-11
^ Indicates rankings by FloWrestling/InterMat/The Open Mat

Arizona State Sun Devils (4-10, 2-1 Pac-12)
Wt. ^Rank Name Yr. Record
125 Brandon Courtney R-Fr. 9-10
133 Josh Kramer R-Jr. 6-4
OR Josiah Kline So. 19-11
141 Cory Crooks R-So. 10-17
OR Navonte Demison R-Fr. 0-4
149 Josh Maruca R-Fr. 14-11
157 13/16/16 Christian Pagdilao Gr. 19-7
165 4/4/4 Josh Shields R-Jr. 23-3
174 3/3/3 Zahid Valencia R-Jr. 23-2
184 Jacen Petersen R-Sr. 12-10
197 Austyn Harris R-Sr. 5-14
285 Brady Daniel R-Fr. 9-16
^ Indicates rankings by FloWrestling/InterMat/The Open Mat

The Kings of California Wrestling
With Saturday's victory over No. 25 Fresno State, CSUB completed the trifecta, sweeping all three of the state of California's Division I wrestling programs.  The Roadrunners tamed Cal Poly 24-11 on January 11 and scored a 20-13 upset over No. 22 Stanford on January 27.  CSUB will take on California Baptist next Saturday, but the Lancers are currently in their first year of a four-year transition into Division I athletics.  To start the season, the Roadrunners knocked off Division II San Francisco State 34-3 and NAIA Life Pacific 38-6. 
 
`Runners Retain National Rankings
Russell Rohlfing and Sean Nickell have maintained their national rankings from the previous week.  Rohfling checks in at No. 20 in the FloWrestling Top 20, while Nickell is rated 17th by InterMat and dropped one spot to 19th in the FloWrestling ratings. 
 
Ducharme Breaks Through, Earns League Honor
After losing seven times to nationally-ranked competitors, including an overtime decision to No. 9 Chip Ness of North Carolina and a narrow 6-3 decision to No. 8 Lou Deprez of Binghamton, redshirt sophomore Dominic Ducharme finally knocked off a ranked wrestler last Saturday, defeating No. 19 Jackson Hemauer 3-2 in tiebreaker scoring.  As a result, Ducharme was named the Pac-12 Wrestler of the Week on Wednesday after leading the `Runners to an 18-12 victory over Fresno State. 
 
Ducharme's currently the top-ranked wrestler in the conference at 184 pounds and is a perfect 3-0 in Pac-12 action.  His 19 victories on the season are good for second on the team and his 12 wins by decision leads the squad. 
 
Flash Flores Notches First Dual Victory
When CSUB starter Alex Hernandez-Figueroa went down with a knee injury at the Roadrunner Open, CSUB was forced to toss true freshman Eddie Flores into the starting lineup.  Flores struggled in his first five matches as the starter at 125 pounds, but the Covina, Calif. native finally came through when CSUB needed him most against Fresno State.  The freshman was down 5-0 early in the match, but came away victorious with three third period takedowns.  His aggressive and attacking style have already made him one of CSUB's most exciting wrestlers. 
 
Nickell Continues Rise Up Career Chart
Redshirt senior Sean Nickell's 80th victory had to have been extra special for the Bakersfield native.  Not only did Nickell's victory over Fresno State's Gary Joint helped preserve a CSUB victory over the Bulldogs, but it tied him with his high school coach Andy Varner for 31st on the school's all-time wins list.  Nickell has his sights set on Adam Fiero next, who racked up 82 career wins.  The two-time NCAA qualifer leads the team with 20 victories this year and is an impressive 11-3 in duals.  

Saturday's dual will start at 1:30 p.m. MST and will be broadcasted live on the Pac-12 Network.  
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Josh Annis

Josh Annis

157
6' 0"
Redshirt Junior
Bryan Battisto

Bryan Battisto

174
5' 10"
Redshirt Senior
Noah Blakley-Beanes

Noah Blakley-Beanes

141
5' 9"
Redshirt Junior
Dominic Ducharme

Dominic Ducharme

184
6' 0"
Redshirt Sophomore
Alejandro Hernandez

Alejandro Hernandez

125
5' 5"
Redshirt Sophomore
Carlos Herrera

Carlos Herrera

141
5' 6"
Redshirt Junior
Josh Loomer

Josh Loomer

197
6' 2"
Redshirt Freshman
Sean Nickell

Sean Nickell

133
5' 7"
Redshirt Senior
Mark Penyacsek

Mark Penyacsek

197
6' 1"
Redshirt Junior
Russell Rohlfing

Russell Rohlfing

141
5' 10"
Redshirt Junior

Players Mentioned

Josh Annis

Josh Annis

6' 0"
Redshirt Junior
157
Bryan Battisto

Bryan Battisto

5' 10"
Redshirt Senior
174
Noah Blakley-Beanes

Noah Blakley-Beanes

5' 9"
Redshirt Junior
141
Dominic Ducharme

Dominic Ducharme

6' 0"
Redshirt Sophomore
184
Alejandro Hernandez

Alejandro Hernandez

5' 5"
Redshirt Sophomore
125
Carlos Herrera

Carlos Herrera

5' 6"
Redshirt Junior
141
Josh Loomer

Josh Loomer

6' 2"
Redshirt Freshman
197
Sean Nickell

Sean Nickell

5' 7"
Redshirt Senior
133
Mark Penyacsek

Mark Penyacsek

6' 1"
Redshirt Junior
197
Russell Rohlfing

Russell Rohlfing

5' 10"
Redshirt Junior
141
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