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Chance Rich

Wrestling

Roadrunners Open Dual Slate at #4 Michigan

Bakersfield, Calif. – The CSU Bakersfield men's wrestling team (0-0) opens its dual meet schedule with a trip to the No. 4-ranked University of Michigan (0-0), Sunday Nov. 14 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific, at Cliff Keen Arena. The match-up kicks off a 13-game dual meet schedule for the Roadrunners, who competed in just a single tri-meet during 2020-21's abbreviated COVID campaign. The Wolverines are ranked in nine of ten weight classes and return ten NCAA Championship qualifiers from last year's team. 
 
"Michigan is the first test on a tough schedule and I'm looking forward to seeing how our team responds to early season challenges," said CSUB Head Coach Luke Smith. "We expect to see a number of the top teams in the country this season, and we've designed our schedule with those challenges specifically to bring out our best."
 
THIS WEEK…
Sunday, Nov. 14 – at #4 Michigan (Cliff Keen Arena), 10 a.m. Pacific
Watch (BIG+)  | Live Results  | Tickets
 
FOLLOW THE `RUNNERS…
Stay connected with Roadrunner Wrestling in Ann Arbor, Mich., and all season long by following the program on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. 
 
BAKERSFIELD'S PROJECTED STARTING LINE-UP…
WT   NAME     YEAR   HOMETOWN (LAST SCHOOL)
125   Eddie Flores         rSO   Covina, Calif. (Northview HS)
133   Chance Rich rSO   Valencia, Calif. (Valencia HS)
141   Angelo Martinoni rSO   Orangeville, Calif. (Folsom HS)
149   Josh Brown or rJR   Anaheim, Calif. (Cerritos College)
  Tyler Deen FR   Albuquerque, N.M. (Nebraska)
157   Brock Rogers rFR   Corcoran, Calif. (Corcoran HS)
165   Augustine Garcia JR   Madera, Calif. (Fresno City College)
174   Albert Urias rSO   Bakersfield, Calif. (Ridgeview HS)
184   Jacob Hansen JR   Simi Valley, Calif. (Moorpark College)
197   Josh Loomer or rJR   San Bernardino, Calif. (Cajon HS)
  Jayden Smith or  FR   El Centro, Calif. (Northwest OK A&M)
  Mateo Morales FR   Fresno, Calif. (Fresno State)
285   Jake Andrews FR   Bakersfield, Calif. (Frontier HS)

ROADRUNNER NOTES...
* Chance Rich (133), Angelo Martinoni (141) and Josh Loomer (184, 2020) give CSUB three NCAA Qualifiers on its 29-man roster. Rich advanced to the round of 16 in 2021, while Martinoni finished with a record of 1-2 in his weight class. Loomer won the 184-pound, Pac-12 Championship in 2020, but did not compete at nationals due to the COVID-19 cancellation.

* Bakersfield sent three wrestlers to the 2021 NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo., including returnees Chance Rich (133) and Angelo Martinoni (141), to extend its streak of sending at least one competitor to nationals to 47-consecutive seasons. Then senior Dominic Ducharme also qualified for the NCAA Tournament, following his Pac-12 Championship at 184. 

* Head Coach Luke Smith enters his first season as the full-time `Runner bench boss, after serving as the Interim Head Man during the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign. Smith posted an 0-2 dual record, as Bakersfield managed to compete in just one tri-meet for the season. This weekend's dual marks a return to the Great Lakes State for Smith, who wrestled four seasons at Central Michigan and served as an assistant for the Chippewas, as well as at Eastern Michigan, early in his coaching career.

* Albert Urias (174) returns for his third-year as a starter in the CSUB line-up. The Bakersfield, Calif., is 25-20 over one-plus seasons in Blue & Gold and has gotten the call in the `Runners last 12 dual meet competitions. His 25 career victories are tops on the CSUB roster.

* Twelve Roadrunner wrestlers placed in tournament competition on the opening weekend of the season, led by Josh Brown (2nd, 149), Albert Urias (3rd, 174) and Augustine Garcia (3rd, 165) at the Menlo Open in Atherton, Calif. Freshmen Richard Castro-Sandoval (125), Cade Lucio (141) and Isaac Salas (149) all won individual titles while wrestling unattached at the Bill Musick Open. 

* Chance Rich (133) and Angelo Martinoni (141) enter the season as Bakersfield's lone ranked wrestlers, checking in at #16 and #23, respectively, on Intermat's Pre-Season Individual weight-class rankings.

* 125-pounder Eddie Flores returns to Bakersfield's starting line-up in 2021-22, for the third-time in four seasons. Flores was a mainstay in 125-pound dual meet bouts in 2018-19, before redshirting the 2019-20 campaign. He competed in both of CSUB's dual meets during and abbreviated 2020-21 season a year ago.

* Seven of Bakersfield's 13 dual opponents enter the season ranked in the top-25, or receiving votes, in the NWCA Pre-Season Coaches' Poll, highlighting a challenging dual meet slate designed to test and develop the `Runners on the road to the Pac-12 & NCAA Championship Tournaments.

* Seven `Runners hail from Bakersfield, Calif., representing four different high schools in one of the top wrestling communities in the state of California and the Western United States. The city boasts a USA Wrestling Regional Training Center and hosts the CIF Championships each year at Mechanic's Bank Arena. Seven more CSUB scholar-athletes hail from seven different high schools in California's Central Valley. Fresno State's decision to discontinue wrestling leaves CSUB as the lone DI program in the Central Valley.

* Roadrunner wrestlers have won nine NCAA Division I National Championships, including a pair of national titles from Dan Cuestas and Stephen Neal. CSUB also boasts 30 Division II National Champions in its program history. 

* Four-time All-American selection Stephen Neal highlights the list of 45 NCAA Division I All-Americans at CSUB. Roadrunner grapplers have also captured 87 Division II All-American honors. 

* CSU Bakersfield has sent 17 wrestling alumni to either the Olympic Games or the World Championship freestyle competition. Only eight schools nationally have sent more athletes. That number does not include the `Runners 10 alternate selections and three coaching nods. John Azevedo and Joe Gonzalez were also choosen for the 1980 Olympic Team, but did not compete due to the US boycott of the Soviet games.

SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES...
Michigan returns 10 qualifiers from a 2021 NCAA Championship Tournament, that saw the Wolverines finish fifth in the country with 69.0 total points. Nine UM grapplers open the season ranked in the Top-25 of their respective weight-classes by Intermat, led by #3 Stevan Micic (133), #2 Myles Amine (184) and #2 Mason Parris (285).

The Wolverines opened the season at the Michigan State Open, winning six placements, led by true freshman Chance Lamer's tournament title at 141 pounds. Graduate student Patrick Brucki finished second in the 197-pound bracket.

Two more graduate students, Stevan Micic (141) and Myles Amine (184), each competed for team USA at the Tokyo Olympic Games, but are not expected to compete this season until the second-semester. Both were All-Americans a season ago.

UM boasts three additional All-Americans on its roster, including Cameron Amine (165) and Mason Parris (285). Princeton transfer Patrick Brucki rounds on the group after placing fourth at 197-pounds, a year ago.

NEXT UP...
Friday, Nov. 19 -- vs Utah Valley (Riverside, Calif. | Van Dyne Gym, California Baptist) -- 5 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 21 -- Roadrunner Open (Bakersfield, Calif. | Icardo Center) -- 10:00 am | Tickets 
 
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Players Mentioned

Dominic Ducharme

Dominic Ducharme

184
6' 0"
Redshirt Senior
Josh Brown

Josh Brown

149
5' 8"
Redshirt Junior
Richard Castro-Sandoval

Richard Castro-Sandoval

125
5' 2"
Freshman
Eddie Flores

Eddie Flores

125
5' 5"
Redshirt Sophomore
Augustine Garcia

Augustine Garcia

165/174
5' 9"
Junior
Josh Loomer

Josh Loomer

184
6' 2"
Redshirt Junior
Angelo Martinoni

Angelo Martinoni

141
5' 9"
Redshirt Sophomore
Chance Rich

Chance Rich

133
5' 7"
Redshirt Sophomore
Brock Rogers

Brock Rogers

157
5' 11"
Redshirt Freshman
Albert Urias

Albert Urias

174
5' 10"
Redshirt Sophomore
Jake Andrews

Jake Andrews

285
6' 3"
Freshman
Cade Lucio

Cade Lucio

149
5' 7"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Dominic Ducharme

Dominic Ducharme

6' 0"
Redshirt Senior
184
Josh Brown

Josh Brown

5' 8"
Redshirt Junior
149
Richard Castro-Sandoval

Richard Castro-Sandoval

5' 2"
Freshman
125
Eddie Flores

Eddie Flores

5' 5"
Redshirt Sophomore
125
Augustine Garcia

Augustine Garcia

5' 9"
Junior
165/174
Josh Loomer

Josh Loomer

6' 2"
Redshirt Junior
184
Angelo Martinoni

Angelo Martinoni

5' 9"
Redshirt Sophomore
141
Chance Rich

Chance Rich

5' 7"
Redshirt Sophomore
133
Brock Rogers

Brock Rogers

5' 11"
Redshirt Freshman
157
Albert Urias

Albert Urias

5' 10"
Redshirt Sophomore
174
Jake Andrews

Jake Andrews

6' 3"
Freshman
285
Cade Lucio

Cade Lucio

5' 7"
Freshman
149
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