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Angelo Martinoni
Dale Rutemeyer

Wrestling

`Runners Wrap Up Southern Scuffle

Redshirt Freshman Angelo Martinoni Places Sixth at 141 lbs



Bakersfield, Calif. – Angelo Martinoni finished sixth in the 141 lb weight class as the CSU Bakersfield wrestling team wrapped up competition at the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn. Martinoni's tournament run totaled five victories, including a thrilling semifinal win over No. 10 Tariq Wilson of NC State. Russell Rohlfing added three victories of his own and advanced to the quarterfinals as the duo led the Roadrunners to a 16th place finish in the team competition, with 37.5 points. 

"We competed in a lot of matches this weekend and that gives us a lot of information," said CSUB Head Coach Manny Rivera. "We know what we need to work on and where we can improve to be successful moving forward." 
 
Martinoni advanced past his first bout of the day when Rutgers grappler Jojo Aragona withdrew from the competition. He took full advantage of the walk-over when he bested the second-seeded Wilson, in a physically grueling bout, to advance to the consolation semi-finals. 
 
Martinoni fell behind early when Wilson flipped him for a two-point take down, but the redshirt freshman battled back with six-straight points and led 6-4 after a high-scoring first period. He increased his lead and his ride time advantage in a relatively quiet second and was ahead 8-4 heading into the final frame. 
 
Wilson carried much of the third stanza, scoring two take downs, an escape and back points to grab an 11-10 lead, but Martinoni's ground game earned him the ride time point and forced overtime. 
 
In the second extra frame, Martinoni deftly reversed his opponent to take the lead and held on through the third OT despite an aggressive push from Wilson to advance to the semi-finals with a 13-11 victory.
 
A loss to Oklahoma State's Dusty Hone (12-2), placed Martinoni in the fifth-place bout against Alex Madrigal of George Mason where he finally ran out of gas. The Bakersfield freshman, who was sidelined for the past month and a half was wrestling in his seventh bout of the tournament when he fell 16-0 to Madrigal. 

"Angelo competed fiercly all weekend and he made a lot of progress," said Rivera. "We talk a lot about trying to take advantage of opportunity and he did that today. He had a big win against a ranked opponent and broke into the national conversation with that result." 
 
Rohlfing's run ended in dramatic fashion against Chattanooga's Tanner Smith. The CSUB senior found himself down 6-3 late in the third period but used a quick escape and an immediate take down to pull even and, seemingly, set the stage for extra time.  
 
But with the clock winding down Smith escaped Rohlfing's grasp, beating the buzzer for one final point. The outcome was briefly reviewed, but the call was upheld and gave the Moc wrestler the victory 7-6, eliminating Rohlfing from the competition.  
 
Rohlfing held a 2-1 lead and a 40 second ride time advantage thru one period of action, before a difficult second saw him concede three quick points and fall behind his opponent 4-2. He pulled within one early in the third on an escape, but a subsequent takedown pushed the deficit to three and set up the back-and-forth finish.  

"Russell had some strong performances and he was right there in a couple of others," Rivera added. "He's always been a good competitor and he'll take what he's learned this weekend and use it to be even better down the stretch." 

The Roadrunners won 20 total matches at the Southern Scuffle this weekend. In addition to Martinoni's five, Rohlfing, Jacob Thalin and Jarrod Snyder each won three bouts, while Chance Rich and Wyatt Gerl both added a pair of victories.   
 
CSUB is back in action on Jan. 19 when they play host to the Duke University Blue Devils in dual match competition at the Icardo Center. The meet is the first of nine straight dual meets for the Roadrunners to close out the regular season. 

 
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Players Mentioned

Wyatt Gerl

Wyatt Gerl

157
6' 0"
Senior
Angelo Martinoni

Angelo Martinoni

141
5' 8"
Redshirt Freshman
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

Wyatt Gerl

Wyatt Gerl

6' 0"
Senior
157
Angelo Martinoni

Angelo Martinoni

5' 8"
Redshirt Freshman
141
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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