Graduate and No. 9 ranked 174-pounder Adam Kemp clinched his first Pac-12 Championship in his weight class and secured a spot in the NCAA National Championship tournament this past Sunday, March 10. Kemp led the way along with three other Cal Poly wrestlers earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in Kansas City, MO.
Kemp held the No. 1 seed at 174 pounds in the Pac-12 tournament and took down Arizona State’s Cael Valencia and Little Rock’s Tyler Brennan to capture the 174-pound title and currently holds a 16-3 overall record.
Redshirt sophomore Chance Lamer held the No. 3 seed in his weight class in the tournament and fell just short of the 149-pound title, falling to No. 1 seed Kyle Parco out of Arizona State who captured his third straight Pac-12 Championship.
Nevertheless, Chance was Cal Poly’s first automatic qualifier of the day after he advanced to the semi-finals of Sunday’s tournament and it will be his second consecutive year wrestling in the NCAA Championships with a 17-4 record.
Redshirt freshman Zeth Romney secured his first tournament berth in his first year as a starter after finishing in third place in the 133-pound weight class. Romeny took down Oregon State’s Gabe Wisenhunt in a close 4-2 decision victory while finishing with a 19-7 record.
The final automatic qualifier came from Chance’s older brother, redshirt junior Legend Lamer after he also finished in third in the 157-pound weight class, beating Matthew Bianchi out of Little Rock in a 5-3 decision and improving his record to 14-9 this season.
This is Legend’s third time qualifying for the national tournament after qualifying in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Some other Mustangs who are hoping for at-large selections this upcoming Wednesday, March 13 are heavyweight Trevor Tinker, 125-pounder Dom Mendez and 197-pounder Jarad Priest after they each finished fourth in their respective weight classes.
Tinker, who earned an at-large bid a season ago, fell early in the Pac-12 tournament to Oregon State’s Boone McDermott who returned the favor after Tinker pinned McDermott in Cal Poly’s dual against the Beavers earlier this season.
As a team, the Mustangs finished fifth out of six teams in the tournament, which is a step down from last season where they placed third.
The four automatic qualifiers will be at the NCAA Championships in Kansas City, MO on Thursday, March 21 through Saturday, March 23.