ANGOLA, Ind. – Trine wrestling was defeated by Manchester, 34-19, on its annual Military Appreciation Night and Senior Night in a Tuesday dual in Hershey Hall.

Trine honored its sole senior wrestler, Tyler Prater (Homer, Mich. / Homer) at intermission of the dual. Following senior night, Trine hosted its annual Military Appreciation Night.

The team raised funds to support the Achilles International Freedom Team of Wounded U.S. Veterans. The Freedom Team was founded in 2004 and provides wounded veterans an opportunity to compete in events such as marathons and cycling.

Program participants receive training as well as the use of specialized adaptive devices, such as hand-crank wheelchairs. All injured military personnel and veterans are eligible for the program, whether the injury is combat or non-combat related.

All proceeds raised by the Thunder wrestling team will go to help the Achilles International Freedom Team of Wounded U.S. Veterans. Trine wrestling will be accepting donations through Wednesday.

Each weight class for the dual tonight was sponsored by a person(s) or organization. Below is the list of sponsors Trine wrestling would like to thank.

125- Trine University Wrestling

133 – Manchester University Wrestling

141 – Brooks and Gretchen Miller, in honor of their grandparents Wayne Farnsel, Roger T. May, Howard Messenger and George Robke.

149 – Dan and Cindy Callahan

157 – Parkview Sports Medicine

165 – Professor Sean Carroll, Ph.D.

174 – Matt Vader, in memory of Capt. Gerald D. Earhart

184 – Phi Kappa Theta fraternity

197 – Seth Ware

285 – Phi Kappa Theta fraternity

At the 149-weight class, Caleb Maddox (Russiaville, Ind./Western) shot in on a low single leg and drug his opponent to middle of the mat to finish the takedown and score the first points of the match over Manchester wrestler Steven Najeeb. Maddox finished the first period riding Najeeb out. In the second period, Najeeb chose neutral. Both wrestlers traded shots, and Maddox and countered a bad shot by the Manchester wrestler to go up 4-0 going into the final period. Maddox chose down in the last period and quickly got the escape. In a scramble for control after a shot by Najeeb, Maddox was able to come out on top to get the takedown. Maddox won the match by a major decision, 8-0, with 3:42 in riding time. The Thunder sophomore was able to score the first dual points for Trine.

At the 184-weight class, Jaycee Jensen (Burns Harbor, Ind. / Chesterton) went straight to work over Alex Roberts, wasting no time. Jensen scored the first takedown with a single arm drag that had Roberts going straight to his back. Jensen won by a fall in 1:38. Jensen's pin gave the Thunder a team score of 10 points in the dual.

At the 197-weight class, Anthony Neal (Sturgis, Mich./Sturgis) scored the first takedown over Manchester's Darion Newbolt with a double leg takedown from behind. Neal rode Newbolt out until late in the first period, and with four seconds left he was able to turn and pin the Manchester wrestler. Neal won by a fall in 2:56. His victory gave the Thunder another six dual points to increase its score to 16 to Manchester's 34.

In the final weight class of heavyweight, Prater faced Brian Clark for Manchester. Prater was able to score the first points off a counter to Clark's shot, and with two stalling calls on Clark in the first, Prater led 3-0. In the second period, the Thunder senior chose down and immediately got to his feet for the escape. Prater scored another counter takedown coming off of Clark's bad shot. Clark was able to get a reversal, but with seconds left in the second period Prater got to his feet again for another escape. In the third period, Clark chose down and instantly got another reversal on Prater. Clark rode out Prater in the period but was unable to turn the Thunder wrestler for back points. Clark was awarded one point coming from a stalling call on Prater. Prater won the match by a decision, 7-6, and scored three points for Trine.

The Thunder returns to the mats Saturday when it travels to Olivet, Mich. for the Mid-States Invitational. Wrestling will begin at 8 a.m. in the Cutler Event Center.

Article courtesy Cody Konieczki, Communications New Media '17

Manchester 34, Trine 19

125: Alan Mock (Manchester) win by forfeit (Manchester, 6-0)

133: Ben Chaufman (Manchester) win by forfeit (Manchester, 12-0)

141: Chase Wilson (Manchester) pinned Michael Weaver (Trine), 3:29 (Manchester, 18-0)

149: Caleb Maddox (Trine) maj. Dec Steven Najeeb (Manchester), 8-0 (Manchester, 18-4)

157: Jordan Napier (Manchester) maj. dec Nick Miller (Trine), 19-10 (Manchester, 22-4)

165: Tristan Wilson (Manchester) pinned Brandon Gay (Trine), 6:01 (Manchester 28, 4)

174: Alex Arney (Manchester) inj. default Austin Farrell (Trine) (Manchester, 34-4)

184: Jay Cee Jensen (Trine) pinned Alex Roberts (Manchester), 1:37 (Manchester, 34-10)

197: Anthony Neal (Trine) pinned Darion Newbolt (Manchester), 2:56 (Manchester, 34-16)

HWT: Tyler Prater (Trine) dec. Brian Clark (Manchester), 7-6 (Machester, 34-19)