The CSU Bakersfield men’s wrestling team took an upsetting loss at the University of Wyoming on Jan. 24, but were able to pick themselves up to take the win at the University of Northern Colorado against the Bears on Jan. 26. Last season, the wrestling team fell to both teams and looked to not only improve on that mark, but win. 

  The Roadrunners came up short to the Wyoming Cowboys, with a loss 34-3 at their dual meet. Nine of the 10 wrestlers suffered losses, but redshirt senior Jacob Thalin managed a narrow loss with a 4-2 decision. Redshirt senior Russell Rohlfing achieved the lone win with a 6-0 decision. 

   “Win or lose, you always learn something from every match, so the season is just about finding what you’re struggling with and finding what works, and just fine-tuning it,” Rohlfing said before the dual meet. 

  As far as the road ahead, Russell said, “Just looking forward to picking up the fight, just going out there and scrapping.” 

  Rohlfing’s teammates did just that when they reached UNC for their next dual meet. While facing the Bears in the dual meet, the ‘Runners finished on top with a 20-16 win. Among the victories was senior Wyatt Gerl. He was behind in the last stretch, but after getting out of his opponent’s grip with a reversal, Gerl kept his opponent on the mat and claimed a 7-2 victory for himself. 

  Rohlfing won by technical fall with a 17-0 decision in his bout, taking a big win and scoring many near fall points. The biggest win for the Roadrunners came from freshman Angelo Martinoni, who was able to come on top with a decisive win and final score of 11-8. 

  Martinoni, on the other hand, has his eyes set on a couple of future duals. “For me personally, I just wanna beat Fresno State just because they’re the other team in the Valley, about two hours away. And then Oregon State. We lost to them by one point last year, and I think we can definitely beat them this year.” 

  The wrestling team’s next home dual meet in the Icardo Center is on Feb. 7 at 7 p. m. against Oregon State University. On Feb. 16 at 12 p.m., wrestling will have a “field” dual meet on the soccer field against Arizona State University.