On Friday (Feb. 3) night at Tiffin, the No. 21-ranked Ashland University wrestling team narrowly missed a win after trailing 27-0, falling 27-22.
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Sunday (Feb. 5) afternoon against Findlay at Kates Gymnasium, the Eagles completed the comeback, topping the Roughnecks, the 2023 Great Midwest Athletic Conference champions, by a 20-19 count. Ashland is 7-9 in duals in 2022-23, and Findlay is 0-10.
"Guys wrestled tough, wrestled with a lot of energy," said Ashland head coach
Colt Sponseller. "Great effort by everybody involved.
"It always comes into play, the competition part of it. Them winning the GMAC Tournament and us coming in second. Luckily, it was on our side."
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WHAT HAPPENED
- After trailing 16-3 after the first four weight classes, with freshman 133-pounder Jeremiah McKee the lone Eagle victory early (9-7 overtime win against Nicholas Korhorn), Ashland won each of the last six matches in the dual.
- At 157 pounds, junior Nick Carbone took a 4-0 decision from Logan Sanom to begin the rally, then junior Drew Wiechers followed with a 3-1 win over Gary Nilson. After freshman Nate Barrett defeated No. 5-ranked Hunter Reed, 6-3, the Eagles trailed 16-12.
- "Nate having a huge win like that...he just keeps improving week by week," Sponseller said. "Peaking at the right time...that is what we are looking for."
- Ashland took the lead for good after No. 5-ranked 184-pound junior Daniel Beemer recorded a 17-1 technical fall against Mark Trifelos. No. 6-ranked 197-pound sophomore Walker Uhl clinched the team victory with an 8-3 win over Jake Kowalski.
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UP NEXT
Senior Night on Friday (Feb. 10) at 7 p.m. at home against Notre Dame College (4-9).
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NO. 21 ASHLAND UNIVERSITY 20, NO. RV FINDLAY 19
| 125 – Caleb Schroer (UF) wins by forfeit |
UF, 6-0 |
| 133 – Jeremiah McKee (AU) dec. Nicholas Korhorn (UF), 9-7 (OT) |
UF, 6-3 |
| 141 – Gavin Ritter (UF) maj. dec. Jake Sundberg (AU), 11-1 |
UF, 10-3 |
| 149 – Mason Kleinberg (UF) pin Zander Graham (AU), 2:07 |
UF, 16-3 |
| 157 – Nick Carbone (AU) dec. Logan Sanom (UF), 4-0 |
UF, 16-6 |
| 165 – Drew Wiechers (AU) dec. Gary Nilson (UF), 3-1 |
UF, 16-9 |
| 174 – Nate Barrett (AU) dec. No. 5 Hunter Reed (UF), 6-3 |
UF, 16-12 |
| 184 – No. 5 Daniel Beemer (AU) tech fall Mark Trifelos (UF), 17-1 |
AU, 17-16 |
| 197 – No. 6 Walker Uhl (AU) dec. Jake Kowalski (UF), 8-3 |
AU, 20-16 |
| 285 – Keigan Yuhas (UF) dec. Ty Petrey (AU), 3-0 |
AU, 20-19 |
