"I am happy for them," said head coach Troy Steiner after the win. "They have been putting in a lot of work and it is neat to see them fight through some tough situations and come out with the win."
In front of 4,175 Red Wave supporters, the dual began at 125 pounds as redshirt senior Sean Williams got the evening started for the 'Dogs on the right foot delivering a 7-5 win over Yoshi Funakoshi. Williams used a late takedown in the second period to build a 6-3 lead and held on for the win.
Freshman Trevor Williams kept Fresno State's (2-5) hot start going at 133 pounds with a 6-2 win over Ty Schilling using an escape and a takedown in the third period to secure the win.
After Colton Schilling helped Cal Poly (0-2) get on the board with a fall at 141 pounds, redshirt sophomore Khristian Olivas got the 'Dogs back on track at 149 pounds winning a low-scoring 1-0 affair as a third-period escape by the Clovis native proved to be the difference.
Sophomore Greg Gaxiola kept it going at 157 pounds building a 10-2 lead after two periods adding four takedowns in the third period for a 20-6 win that extended the 'Dogs team lead to 13-6.
After a short intermission, redshirt sophomore Isaiah Hokit kept the offense going at 165 pounds as he put up a season-high 23 points on his way to a technical fall win defeating Ryan Farina, 23-8.
With the Bulldogs leading 17-6, Cal Poly picked up back-to-back wins at 174 and 184 pounds to cut the 'Dogs lead to 17-13, but back-to-back falls by sophomore Josh Hokit at 197 pounds and freshman AJ Nevills at heavyweight sealed the win for the 'Dogs.
Making his Bulldog wrestling debut after playing the last two seasons on the gridiron for the Fresno State football team, Hokit wasted little time getting back to his Clovis High wrestling days, where he was a state champion as a senior in 2016, recording a fall in 4:14 over Cal Poly's Ryan Anderson.
Nevills capped off the night with a fall in 5:40 over Spencer Empey as the Clovis native improves to 17-3 on the season.
The Bulldogs are back in action next weekend at the Virginia Duals in Hampton, Va., on Jan. 12-13. The 'Dogs will compete in two duals each day against a field that will include No. 10 Arizona State, Bucknell, Campbell, Chattanooga, Iowa State, Kent State, Lock Haven, No. 11 Northern Iowa, No. 18 Oklahoma, Old Dominion, Virginia and No. 9 Virginia Tech.
Results:
125: Sean Williams (FS) dec. Yoshi Funakoshi (CP), 7-5 | FS 3, CP 0
133: Trevor Williams (FS) dec. Ty Schilling (CP), 6-2 | FS 6, CP 0
141: Colton Schilling (CP) wins by fall over Chris De Loza (FS), 0:30 | FS 6, CP 6
149: Khristian Olivas (FS) dec. Joshy Cortez (CP), 1-0 | FS 9, CP 6
157: Greg Gaxiola (FS) maj. dec. Jett Moy (CP), 20-6 | FS 13, CP 6
165: Isaiah Hokit (FS) tech. fall. over Ryan Farina, 23-8 (6:19) | FS 17, CP 6 - Only four team points awarded after no near fall points scored during the match
174: Matt Wilhelm (CP) maj. dec. Dominic Kincaid (FS), 17-6 | FS 17, CP 10
184: Sohrab Movahedi (CP) dec. Angel Solis (FS), 8-2 | FS 17, CP 13
197: Josh Hokit (FS) wins by fall over Ryan Anderson (CP), 4:14 | FS 23, CP 13
HWT: AJ Nevills (FS) wins by fall over Spencer Empey (CP), 5:40 | FS 29, CP 13
Notables
- Gaxiola scored a season-high 20 points on his way to his fifth major decision of the season.
- Isaiah Hokit picked up his second technical fall of the season.
- Nevills recorded his sixth fall of the season.
Head Coach Troy Steiner Quotes
On the 'Dogs victory over Cal Poly...
"I know we have the ability on this team. We have such a young team and there is a learning curve that we have to try and fight as much as we can. We are starting to see adjustments and people are toughing it out in tough situations. That is what I like to see and I have been seeing that little progress all along and now it gets to the point where we get to get a 'W' from it."
On Josh Hokit's Bulldog wrestling debut…
"It is awesome to have Josh on the squad. It adds a lot of firepower to us up on top. More importantly, it brings attitude and competitiveness to the team. He is going to add a lot to this squad just with his attitude and how he approaches things. He is a competitive guy."
On Hokit's transition from football to wrestling in less than two weeks…
"He was on the football field two weeks ago. We really didn't know if he was going to be on the mat for us tonight or not. As things progressed and we went through training after he got back from the Bowl Game, we saw that his training was going well. He had a weight adjustment to get his weight down a little bit. It just came down to him wanting to be down there in front of his home crowd tonight. I left it up to him whether he wanted to jump out there tonight or not and I knew that he wasn't going to say no. To make a turnaround that quick is not easy. I hadn't talked to him much during football season because I wanted to keep his focus there to help Coach Tedford and the football team. He obviously did that for them. Shortly before they went to Hawai'i for the bowl game, we talked a little bit and made up the plan of when he was going to be back with us. It is great to have him back."
On the crowd and its energy…
"It is a great atmosphere. The marketing and facilities people are doing a great job at really making it an event. It is not just coming to watch the matches, there is a lot of crowd interaction and it is a full event. Whether you like to think about it like this or not, we are in the entertainment business. Those people have done a really great job. They have made us look good in that regards. The energy is great."
Redshirt sophomore 149-pounder Khristian Olivas
On wrestling in front of a home crowd…
"It felt good. The atmosphere is always great and it makes it fun to compete out there and show the fans what we do."
On Josh Hokit…
"He delivers fireworks every time he wrestles. I knew as soon as he got that leg up that he was going for it and he was going to get the pin. He lit up the crowd and we need that. He is an athlete and a competitor who thrives in those situations. It really showed tonight. I knew he could do that."
On how he has had his success this far…
"Being stingy and going out there with a dominant attitude and taking it to my opponent, capitalizing in every situation and trying to score as much points as I possibly can. I know tonight was a lower score match, but I stayed composed in the match and weathered it out and got the win."
On getting the win over Cal Poly…
"The last couple of weeks with the duals have been struggling, but we go back in the room and we just reset. We forget about it and we get back to 0-0 and keep going. We think of the next match in front of us, nothing in the past and nothing in the future. Just focused on what is next."
Sophomore 197-pounder Josh Hokit
On returning to wrestling after the football season…
"I definitely felt rusty. It didn't last too long and I didn't get to wrestle those last few minutes, but that definitely would've challenged me if it had."
On the process of going from football to wrestling…
"It felt so familiar, I have been doing this all my life. Tell me any other football player who can do this. I don't think there is one. I had to cut about 27 pounds since around Christmas. I have been doing this for a long time and I knew it was going to be hard but you just have to push through it every day and it is eventually going to get easier. It all kind of started in Hawaii, I made sure I stuck to the fruit that was all around. It is a very different diet. I think it is totally worth it."
On being back out in front of the crowd…
"It felt great! There are so many people that want to see me do well. To be able to do that in front of them felt amazing."
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" - The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.
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