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Chance_Rich_LS (7)
Larry Slater

Wrestling

Rich Advances to Day 2 of NCAA Wrestling Championships

TULSA, Okla. – An opening-round victory over a higher-seeded opponent followed by a hard-fought loss to a Top-5 foe resulted in Cal State Bakersfield's Chance Rich advancing to Day 2 of the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Rich, now a three-time NCAA qualifier, now needs to win at least three matches on Friday to secure his first All-American honor.

Notables
  • Ranked #21 in the 133-pound weight class, Rich opened the day against #12 Chris Cannon from Northwestern, a familiar foe. This past December, Rich earned a decision over the high-seeded wrestler at the Cliff Keen Invitational.
  • On Thursday morning in Tulsa, Rich countered a second-period shot and put Cannon on his back, scoring all six of his points in a single movement. Cannon would gain points on three stall calls and an escape, but Bakersfield's redshirt junior held on for the 6-5 victory.
  • In the second round, Rich came up against fifth-seeded Kai Orine of NC State. A first-period takedown followed by a second-period escape found Orine ahead of Rich 3-0.
  • With four seconds to go in the second, Rich made a move that was determined to be non-scoring, but Head Coach Luke Smith challenged the call, which was eventually overturned for a CSUB takedown, making the score 3-2 with four seconds left in the period.
  • After the long review and the reset, a momentary lapse from Rich saw Orine fly out of the whistle for a reversal and two back points, taking a 7-3 lead to the final period.
  • Rich was unable to recover and ultimately fell 12-2 in the major decision.
  • With his first loss, Rich dropped to the consolation bracket and will face another familiar foe to start Friday's action.
  • CSUB's 133 will go toe-to-toe with Michigan's #11 Dylan Ragusin for the third time this season. Ragusin won both of the previous two meetings, a 6-1 decision at Cliff Keen and a 7-3 decision in the CSUB-Michigan dual in Bakersfield on Jan. 8.
Quotes from Head Coach Luke Smith
  • "That was a great first match, knocking off a returning All-American. It was big for Chance getting that first-round win."
  • "Against Cannon, I thought he wrestled well in the first period and up until the last four second of the second period. That was a huge momentum changer. He knows he made a mistake; he just kind of relaxed and the guy caught him on his back with short time and that kind of changed the match."
  • "Tomorrow, he'll start things off with a familiar opponent in the kid from Michigan. Chance has lost to him twice this year, but Chance is a different guy at the NCAA tournament. He's gotten a lot of big wins at this tournament the last two years."
  • "We're just going to keep taking it one match at a time. The important thing for him is to refocus his mind on the next best thing. He can't be a National Champion now, and that sucks, because that's what his main goal was, but now he's just got to focus on the next best thing."
Up Next on the Schedule
  • Rich continues the NCAA Championships
  • Friday, Mar. 17
  • Tulsa, Okla. / BOK Center
  • Session 3 at 9 a.m. (PT)
  • Session 4 at 4 p.m. (PT)
Full Results
 
#21 Chance Rich (133), 1-1
Defeated #12 Chris Cannon (Northwestern) by decision, 6-5
Lost to #5 Kai Orine (NC State) by major decision, 12-2

~GoRunners.com~
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Players Mentioned

Chance Rich

Chance Rich

133
5' 7"
Redshirt Junior

Players Mentioned

Chance Rich

Chance Rich

5' 7"
Redshirt Junior
133
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