A promising start for Bulldog wrestling ended in a 27-15 loss to Stanford on Saturday at the Save Mart Center.

Fresno State led the dual early with two wins in the first three matches. Those wins came from redshirt sophomore Richie Brandt and ‘Dogs’ football player Josh Hokit.

The dual began with Fresno State’s redshirt sophomore Dominic Kincaid versus No. 9 Keaton Subjeck at 197 pounds.

Kincaid lept out to a 6-1 lead in the first period after a takedown and a 4-point near-fall. Subjeck was quick to cut into that lead after Kincaid’s three escapes to end the second period, 9-5.   

The match was tied 10-10 by the end of the third period, forcing a sudden-victory period.

After a hard-fought match, the two-time NCAA Championship qualifier, Subjeck scored the winning takedown with only 26 seconds left to secure a 12-10 win and put Stanford on the board 3-0.

In front of nearly 4,400 screaming Red Wave fans, the ‘Dogs bounced back. Brandt led the way.

At 184 pounds, Brandt forced a takedown and an escape over Clovis native Austin Flores to win the match and tie the dual 3-3.

It was Hokit who gave the ‘Dogs a 9-3 lead at 197 pounds. With a 4-2 lead after the second period, the sophomore secured his second fall of the season against Stanford’s David Showunmi in under six minutes.

Stanford countered back with four consecutive wins. The first one was over ‘Dogs’ freshman AJ Nevills, Cardinal alum Zach Nevills’ younger brother. No. 5 Nathan Butler beat Nevills 7-1 to close in on the ‘Dogs, 9-6.

Stanford then jumped out to a 21-9 lead after a pair of falls over redshirt senior Sean Williams and freshman Chris De Loza and a 6-1 decision over freshman Trevor Williams.

No.19 Khristian Olivas ended the Cardinal’s run with an 8-3 decision over redshirt freshman Jake Berry. Olivas is now 16-1 in duals.

With a fall over Buchanan alum Greg Gaxiola, Stanford picked up its last win of the night for a 27-12 lead.

The dual ended at 165 pounds with redshirt sophomore Isaiah Hokit and Stanford’s Jared Hill. Hokit recorded a reversal in the second period to take a 6-1 lead and finished strong over Hill, 9-4.

The final score was 27-15, Stanford. This marks Fresno State’s third loss to Stanford out of 36 duals.

The ‘Dogs will hit the road to face Oregon State and Iowa State this week. The team will be back at the Save Mart Center on Feb. 18 for the last time against No. 5 Oklahoma State.