BAKERSFIELD – After two weeks of tournament preparation, the CSU Bakersfield wrestling team travels to the Pac-12 Conference Championships this Sunday, at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, Ariz., on the campus of Arizona State University. The Roadrunners enter the championship with just a 2-10 record in dual meet competition, but the team has wrestled well down the stretch, when healthy, and expects its full compliment of starters for this weekend's competition. Wrestling begins at 11 a.m., with first-round bouts and championship semi-finals extending to 3 p.m. Consolation match-ups will resume at 5:45 p.m., with Championship action begininning on the Pac-12 Network at 6:45 p.m.
Chance Rich (133), Angelo Martinoni (141), Jacob Hansen (184) and Jacob Sieder (285) have all earned #3 seeds in this weekend's tournament.
Rich enters with a record of 12-3, after winning four times, including twice by fall at the Last Chance Invitational hosted by Utah Valley on Feb. 19. He missed much of the first half of the season due to injury, but is rounding into form as he sets his sights on his second-consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships. Rich finished the 2021 Pac-12 Tournament with a 2-1 record and was the runner-up at 133 lbs.
Martinoni is 18-10 this season, despite wrestling just once since the Arizona State dual meet on Jan. 23. He placed third in the 141 lb weight class a season ago to earn an allocated spot at the NCAA Championship meet.
Hansen will make his Pac-12 Tournament debut this weekend, looking to capture his midseason form that saw him win five of six bouts from Jan. 16 to Feb. 10. Sieder is 5-5 on the year, with all five of his losses coming to ranked foes. He is 3-1 in Pac-12 competition this season and will look to avenge his only loss, to Oregon State's Gary Traub, if he can advance to the semi-finals.
Josh Loomer (197) and Brock Rogers (157) enter the weekend as #4 seeds, while Josh Brown (149) and Albert Urias (174), Bakersfield's two winningest wrestlers this season, have each been seeded 5th.
Loomer is 9-9 after returning to the Bakersfield line-up at the semester break. He won the 2020 Pac-12 Championship at 184 lbs as a sophomore. Rogers enters with an 11-17 overall mark.
Brown and Urias boast 22 and 23 individual victories in 2021-22, respectively, and could have easily earned higher seeds. Urias, in particular, has wrestled his best down the stretch, finishing the year with wins in his last seven outings.
Augustine Garcia (165) and Eddie Flores (125) were each seeded 6th.
THIS WEEK…
Sunday, March 6 - Pac-12 Championships * (Tempe, Ariz.), All Day | Watch: Morning Mat 1 // Morning Mat 2 // Championships | Live Results | Tickets
FOLLOW THE `RUNNERS…
Stay connected with Roadrunner Wrestling on the road, 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 |
#24 Chance Rich |
rSO |
Valencia, Calif. (Valencia HS) |
| 141 |
#33 Angelo Martinoni |
rSO |
Orangevale, Calif. (Folsom HS) |
| 149 |
Josh Brown |
rJR |
Anaheim, Calif. (Cerritos College) |
| 157 |
Brock Rogers |
rFR |
Corcoran, Calif. (Corcoran HS) |
| 165 |
Augustine Garcia |
JR |
Madera, Calif. (Sacramento City College) |
| 174 |
#31 Albert Urias |
rSO |
Bakersfield, Calif. (Ridgeview HS) |
| 184 |
Jacob Hansen |
JR |
Simi Valley, Calif. (Moorpark College) |
| 197 |
Josh Loomer |
rJR |
San Bernardino, Calif. (Cajon HS) |
| 285 |
Jacob Sieder |
rSR |
Torrance, Calif. (South) |
ROADRUNNER NOTES...
* Bakersfield has won two conference titles (1996 & 1999) and 37 individual weight-class championships, including the last two titles at 184 lbs. Dominic Ducharme took home top honors at 184 last season, while returning starter Josh Loomer, now wrestling at 197 lbs, did so in 2020.
* Ducharme, Chance Rich and Angelo Martinoni all advanced to the 2020 NCAA Championships based on their performances at last seasons Pac-12 Conference Tournament. Ducharme won CSUB's 37th individual title, while Rich placed second at 133 lbs and Martinoni was third at 141 lbs.
* Seven of CSUB's ten starters have previous conference championship experience, combining for an 19-22 record at the league event. Chance Rich and Josh Loomer are 4-2 to lead the `Runner returnees, while Angelo Martinoni is 4-3. Josh Brown, Augustine Garcia and Jacob Hansen are making their tournament debuts.
* The Roadrunners have sent at least one individual wrestler to the NCAA Championship Tournament for 47-consecutive seasons, dating back to Bill Van Worth in 1974.
* #24 Chance Rich (133), #31 Albert Urias and #33 Angelo Martinoni (141) enter the post-season ranked in Intermat's National rankings. Rich & Martinoni spent much of the year ranked after NCAA trips a year ago. Urias is making his debut in the poll.
* Head Coach Luke Smith picked up the first dual meet victory of his CSUB career against American at the Chippewa Challenge, on the very same mats he dominated as four-time All-American at Central Michigan. The Roadrunners dominated the Eagles, winning all nine contested bouts, dropping only a forfeit at 133 pounds.
* CSUB alumni Jon Azevedo, Joe Gonzales, Adam Cuestas and Dan Cuestas were all inducted into the Jim Koch Division II Hall of Fame on Feb. 1, 2022. The quartet combined for four Division II National Titles with the `Runners.
* Bakersfield has wrestled hard against a difficult schedule all season long. Most recently, CSUB fell late to #8 Arizona State, 26-15, including a forfeit at 133 pounds. The `Runners have faced four ranked opponents so far this season.
* 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 participated in the event.
* 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.
* Eight of Bakersfield's 14 dual opponents are ranked in the top-25, or receiving votes, in the latest NWCA Coaches' Poll. Those eight programs include four Pac-12 rivals, with Arizona State (#6) and Cal Poly (#25), while and Oregon State sit just outside the poll. The Roadrunners dropped their season opener at #4 Michigan and will also face #13 Iowa State this Wednesday, before visiting foes Central Michigan (RV) and Campbell (RV) on Sunday, Jan. 16.
* 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 chosen for the 1980 Olympic Team, but did not compete due to the US boycott of the Soviet games.
NEXT UP...
Roadrunner wrestlers will grapple this week in Tempe, Ariz., for the chance to extend their seasons at the NCAA Championships in Detroit, Mich., later this month. Bakersfield has sent at least one wrestler to the National Tournament in each of the last 47 seasons.
