ANGOLA, Ind. - In their final warm-up for the Mid-States Conference Tournament, the Trine University wrestling team defeated Manchester University 28-16. The Thunder improve to 4-13 on the season in dual meets.
Trine started things off with a bang on Senior Night. Leading things off for the Thunder, senior All-American and toped ranked wrestler at 157 pounds Elias Larson (Chicago, Ill./Marion Catholic), pinned Johnny Tullos just 53 seconds into their match.
Fellow senior Ryan Pieper (Onsted, Mich./Onsted) moved up to 184lbs from his normal 174 division where he is ranked 10th. The change made no difference to Pieper as he dominated Jacob Segraves, winning by a major decision 20-8 as he did not surrender a takedown.
At 197 pounds, sophomore Mack Green (Buchanan, Mich./Buchanan) took home a win over Raymond Wajda in the final period, breaking a scoreless match to win 3-0.
In the closest match of the night, junior Shane Hendrickson (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Memorial) fell in overtime 3-1 at 285 pounds.
Trine’s final win of the night came at 141 pounds. After giving up two points via penalty, freshman Josh Blanton (Alexandria, Ind./Alexandria) scored six straight points including a three-point near nearfall to defeat Josh Juarez 6-3.
The Thunder also picked up two wins by forfeit on the night. At 125 pounds, 9th ranked sophomore Brandon Preston (Logansport, Ind./Logansport) earned the win and at 174 pounds freshman Bryce Grames (Hamilton, Ind.) took home the victory.
The Thunder will now compete at the Mid-States Conference Tournament hosted by Alma College on February 16 beginning at 9:00 a.m.