This weekend, the Mustangs are looking to build off an impressive performance in Las Vegas two weeks ago. At the 43rd Cliff Keen Invitational on Dec. 5-6, Cal Poly placed ninth out of 30 teams to secure the seven highest team finish in program history at the prestigious tournament and the best in 16 years.

The Mustangs had a program-record five placers at the event as Koda Holeman (125 pounds) and Trevor Tinker (285) led the way with fifth place finishes, Cash Stewart (174) and Ceasar Garza (184) both took seventh and Zeth Romney finished eighth at 141.

Saturday’s action will mark the Mustangs’ first dual since Nov. 14 when they took down Pac-12 rival Cal State Bakersfield 30-9 inside Mott Athletics Center. True freshmen and Bakersfield native Aiden Simmons made his collegiate debut in that dual, earning a 4-2 decision at 141 pounds.

Cal Poly carries five nationally-ranked wrestlers into Saturday’s duals, including four currently ranked inside the top 20 in their weight class — Romney No. 5 at 141, Holeman No. 17 at 125, Garza No. 20 at 184 and Tinker No. 20 at 285. Redshirt freshman Jagger French is ranked No. 33 at 157 pounds, according to FloWrestling.

As a team, Cal Poly (1-1) is currently No. 26 in the FloWrestling Team Tournament rankings.

Drexel, a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, is 2-2 in duals this season, defeating Duke 37-4 and Morgan State 38-9 early in the season before falling to No. 1 Penn State 43-3 and No. 14 Rutgers 28-12 in their last two duals. The Dragons have four nationally ranked wrestlers — No. 14 Jasiah Queen at 174, No. 30 Kyle Waterman at 133, No. 30 Nate Schon at 285, No. 31 Ibrahim Ameer at 197. 

Last year, Cal Poly fell to Drexel 23-16 in a consolation match at the 2025 NWCA Mid-Major National Duals.

Cal Baptist, a member of the Pac-12 Conference, owns a 1-3 record in duals this season, most recently defeating Presbyterian College 42-3 on Monday in South Carolina. The Lancers’ three defeats all came at home, losing 29-12 to No. 20 Stanford on Nov. 15, 26-9 to Utah Valley on Nov. 20 and 28-12 to No. 29 Wyoming on Nov. 22.

The Lancers only have one ranked wrestler with redshirt sophomore Drayden Morton checking in at No. 32 at 157 pounds. Last year, the Mustangs came up short to CBU 22-16 in San Luis Obispo during FloWrestling Night in America.

Following this weekend’s action, Cal Poly will travel to Evanston, Illinois to take part in the historic Ken Kraft Midlands Championships hosted by Northwestern on Dec. 29-30.

Season records in parentheses

No. 26 Cal Poly (1-1)

125 – No. 17/18 Koda Holeman (7-2, 2-0 Duals)

133 – Anthony Lucio (0-4, 0-2 Duals)

141 – No. 8/5 Zeth Romney (3-2, 1-0 Duals) OR Aiden Simmons (4-1, 1-0 Duals)

149 – Andre Gonzales (7-4, 1-1 Duals)

157 – NR/No. 33 Jagger French (8-3, 1-1 Duals) OR Anthony Berg (8-2, 0-0 Duals)

165 – Luke Gayer (1-6, 0-2 Duals)

174 – Cash Stewart (7-6, 0-2 Duals)

184 – No. 20/28 Ceasar Garza (10-2, 2-0 Duals)

197 – Cole Jackson (7-5, 1-1 Duals) OR Wesley Wilson (4-3, 0-0 Duals)

285 – No. 20/20 Trevor Tinker (6-2, 2-0 Duals)

Drexel (2-2)

125 – Desmond Pleasant OR Oumar Tounkara

133 – NR/No. 30 Kyle Waterman

141 – Jordan Soriano OR Trey Friedman

149 – Patrick Kelly OR Deon Pleasant

157 – Luke Nichter OR Aboubakare Diaby OR Gavin Carroll

165 – Cody Walsh OR Dom Findora

174 – No. 18/14 Jasiah Queen

184 – Ethan Wilson OR Chris Mance

197 – No. 31/NR Ibrahim Ameer

285 – NR/No. 30 Nate Schon OR Dom Petracci

Cal Baptist (1-3)

125 – Cooper Shore OR Mitchell Neiner

133 – Remy Murillo

141- Jesse Vasquez

149 – Paul Kelly

157 – NR/No. 32 Drayden Morton OR Matthew Buck

165 – Gabe Schumm OR Timothy Cowan

174 – Mason Espinoza

184 – David Alonso

197 – Eli Sheeren OR Kayden Cartee

285 – Tristan Kemp

InterMat/FloWrestling rankings

Reno Tournament of Champions Lineup

125: Christian Garcia

133: Caleb Rivas

141: Alek Vanbebber

149: Gavin Fernandez, Matthew Luna

174: Ryan Clink

184: Mark Ayala

197: Tyler Hodges