A major decision by Sean Dougherty and decisions by Sohrab Movahedi, Dominic Kastl, Spencer Empey and Britain Longmire staked Coach Brendan Buckley's Mustangs to a 13-point advantage and Colt Shorts, Blake Kastl and Maxamillian Schneider sealed the verdict with decisions of their own.
A year ago, Cal Poly lost twice to CSU Bakersfield by scores of 27-13 and 22-10, and the Mustangs failed to win a dual meet against a Division I school, finishing 2-11 for the season.
Thursday's season-opening triumph has signaled a turnaround.
"Tonight was a great start to the season," said Buckley. "Our young guys showed a good deal of poise to come from behind in several matches.
"We still have a good deal to work on and we will begin that work tomorrow," Buckley added.
The dual meet opened at 165 pounds with Movahedi, a true freshman from Northridge, opening his Mustang career by outscoring David Meza 12-11.
The feature bout was at 174 pitting a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers. Mustang Dominic Kastl, the Pac-12 champion at 165 pounds two years ago before sitting out the 2012-13 season with a lower back injury, edged Bryce Hammond 2-1. Hammond claimed the Pac-12 crown at 174 last season.
Dougherty gave Cal Poly a 10-0 advantage with a 12-1 major decision over Sean Pollock at 184.
After Ruben Franklin put CSU Bakersfield on the scoreboard with an 11-4 decision over Mustang 197-pounder Nicolas Johnson, Cal Poly won two more matches for its 16-3 lead.
Empey posted a 7-3 decision at heavyweight and senior Britain Longmire, who along with Dougherty were the only seniors in the Mustang lineup Thursday, earned a 4-2 overtime decision at 125 pounds.
CSU Bakersfield's second win was by Ian Nickell with a 7-3 decision over Mustang 133-pounder Devon Lotito, Cal Poly's lone national qualifier a year ago after capturing the Pac-12 title at 133 pounds.
The Mustangs closed out the dual meet with wins in the final three bouts.
Shorts earned a 9-5 decision at 141, Blake Kastl posted a 13-8 decision at 149 and Schneider was a 12-5 winner at 157. All three are freshmen -- Shorts and Kastl redshirting the 2012-13 season.
Cal Poly returns to action Sunday, Nov. 17, at the Roadrunner Invitational, to be held in Selland Arena in Fresno.
Results:
165 -- Sohrab Movahedi (CP) dec. David Meza (B) 12-11
174 -- Dominic Kastl (CP) dec. Bryce Hammond (B) 2-1
184 -- Sean Dougherty (CP) maj. dec. Sean Pollock (B) 12-1
197 -- Ruben Franklin (B) dec. Nicolas Johnson (CP) 11-4
285 -- Spencer Empey (CP) dec. Sam Cervantes (B) 7-3
125 -- Britain Longmire (CP) dec. Zach Zimmer (B) 4-2 OT
133 -- Ian Nickell (B) dec. Devon Lotito (CP) 7-3
141 -- Colt Shorts (CP) dec. Timmy Box (B) 9-5
149 -- Blake Kastl (CP) dec. Dalton Kelly (B) 13-8
157 -- Maxamillian Schneider (CP) dec. Spencer Hill (B) 12-5
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