SANDUSKY, Ohio -- The Trine University men's wrestling team finished off the 2021 portion of their schedule by taking part in the Kalahari Duals where they would drop all four of their matches to tough competition, including two nationally-ranked opponents.
The day started with the team facing off with No. 11 University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh and falling 45-5. The Thunder's lone points came in the 174 weight class where senior Owen Conklin (West Lafayette, Ind. / Harrison) picked up a technical fall victory over his opponent, 15-0. In the team's second match they faced off with No. 5 ranked Baldwin Wallace University and were once again outmatched this time 42-0.
Trine started to find some footing in their third match of the day where they faced off with Defiance College, but it would not be enough as they lost 28-23. The Thunder's shorthandedness hurt them in the match as they were forced to forfeit both the 133 and 157 weight class matches, while Defiance only notched a forfeit in the 125 weight class, a 6 point swing in favor of the Yellow Jackets. Trine earned the rest of their points on the mats with Conklin once again picking up a victory in the 174 match, this time with a pin at the 1:03 mark. Sophomore Isaac Hawkins (Fremont, Ind. / Fremont) also picked up a pin (4:09) in his 149 match and the same went for classmate Andrew Williamson (Mount Gilead, Ohio / Mount Gilead) at the 1:27 mark of the 184 match. The three pins gave the Thunder a lead going into the final two matches of the contest at 24-19, but two tough losses in the heaviest matches swung the day for Defiance.
Finally the team faced off with Otterbein College in their final match of the day where they once again were hurt by a short lineup spotting the opposition 12 points on the way to a 32-17 victory. Freshman Bryce Trimm (Battle Creek, Mich. / Harper Creek) started the contest strong for the team with a pin at 1:46 of the 125 match. Following a 133 forfeit the Thunder took the lead again with a victory by 5-4 decision in the 141 match by sophomore Joseph Langeman (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) and then a 8-6 decision in the 149 match in favor of Hawkins. Otterbein took their first lead of the contest with the next two matches, but Conklin picked up his third win of the day to give take it back. He won the 174 match with a technical fall of 18-2 giving the team a 17-16 lead at the time. They were unfortunately the last points for the team as Otterbein pulled away to the 32-17 victory.
Trine falls to 1-7 in duals this season following the tough day. They will return to the mat on Thursday, January 6 when they travel to face Alma College for a 7 p.m. contest. The match signals the start of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) season.