Ashland University's wrestling team found its in an unfamiliar place, down in a dual midway through on Sunday (Jan. 12) against Lake Erie.
The No. 8 Eagles trailed 12-3 after four matches, but ended up winning the dual, 21-15, after a late surge in the later weight classes secured a victory.
"We're in regional dual mode right now," said Ashland wrestling head coach Josh Hutchens. "Most of our duals except for one will be region duals, and it's for seeding for the regional tournament and getting another look at these guys to prepare for the regional tournament."
AU got off to a great start when redshirt junior Christian Wellman won a thriller at 125 pounds, 5-4. Wellman trailed 4-2 with under a minute to go in the match. He managed to escape from bottom to cut his deficit to just one point, then he got a takedown to take the lead in the waning moments of the match.
"It's tough, that's something you don't want to make a habit of," said Hutchens. "He was attacking the whole time and was just being defended well. He was having trouble finishing his shots. Everyone in the region is trying to shut his shot down, he's got a really good shot and they did a good job of it, so he had to adapt. He just kept going, he never gave up and that's what did it for him."
After a three-bout drought for AU, it was junior Cameron Jenkins at 157 who got the Eagles back on the board again with a 7-3 decision. Jenkins' scoring came from one takedown per period and a third-period escape. Redshirt senior Christian Price kept the momentum going with a 4-2 win at 165.
The next two matches were where the Eagles were able to separate from the Storm. Redshirt senior Bret Romanzak came out looking to take a lot of shots offensively, and it paid off in the way of a 12-4 major decision at 174 pounds. Romanzak had three takedowns in the first period alone.
"The plan was to open up more," said Hutchens. "He's very good at shutting people down. We just want to force the offense so that if he needs it at the national tournament, it's there. He's got a good offense, but we just wanted to push the pace and really test it today."
At 184, junior Aidan Pasiuk was flawless on the scoreboard in his 15-0 tech fall. Pasiuk had three takedowns and benefitted from four stall warnings to his opponent, Brylan Clouse, in the win.
"He got a turn on top which was good, and also over and over on his feet just keeping on the attack," said Hutchens.
With an 18-15 overall lead in the dual, it was up to junior heavyweight Tristen Weirich to clinch the win. Weirich did just that, winning his match 7-4 as he was able to score throughout, earning a takedown in every period.
Ashland's next test will come at home on Friday (Jan. 17) at 7 p.m. against Mount Union.
AU
WR/SVS
