FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The 11th-ranked Indiana Tech wrestling team finished the Warriors Duals 3-1 on Saturday at the Warrior Athletic Center, defeating Missouri Baptist (44-0), No. 8 Cumberland (23-13) and No. 19 Oklahoma City (30-9) before falling to No. 4 Campbellsville (21-14).
Kristopher McKinley got the meet off to a good start for Tech winning by major decision over John Bobeen, 11-2, to net four team points for the Warriors. Back-to-back pins from
Mitchell Pawlak (133) and
Travis Barroquillo (141) netted 12 more points for the Warriors and the rout was on. Adam Fahs (149),
Chase Hack (157) and
James Bennett (165) all earned three points each with Fahs and Hack each winning their matches by one point in the late seconds.
Darryl Grayson got six points with a pin at 174 before
Taylor DeLong defeated the No. 11 wrestler, Weston Keleher, at 184-pounds.
Brandon Sunday netted four points at 197-pounds while
Andre Dunn, who came in as the No. 4 wrestler at 285-pounds in the East Region, pinned the No. 1 wrestler in the East, Julius Anglikas, in 2:08 to win the final six points of the dual.
In the Warriors upset of No. 8 Cumberland, Tech won six of the 10 matches. McKinley, the top-ranked wrestler in the East at 125 and sixth overall, once again won his weight class, capturing three points with a 6-4 decision. The biggest upset of the dual came at 133-pounds where Pawlak, the 10th-ranked wrestler in the class, defeated Billy Ward, the No. 2 wrestler at 133, by an 8-2 decision. Barroquillo got the pin at 141 and Fahs and Hack each followed with major decisions to give the Warriors a 20-0 lead. A
Kafuba Donzon decision at 165-pounds gave the Orange and Black their final points en route to a 23-13 win.
In their third dual of the day, Tech downed No. 19 Oklahoma City, winning seven of the 10 matches. McKinley (125), Donzon (165), Grayson (174) and DeLong (184) all won by decision with three others recording pins. Pawlak pinned Josh Geopfert at 133-pounds at 1:23 with Barroquillo following with another over James Landoll at 141-pounds. Dunn got another victory at 285 with a pin over Destin Theus at 0:57 to cap the 30-9 victory.
The final dual of the day for the hosts was against their toughest opponent of the day, the fourth-ranked Campbellsville Tigers. Cody Steiner, the ninth-ranked wrestler at 125-pounds upset McKinley to start the match, an 8-3 decision. The No. 3 wrestler at 133-pounds, Tyler Alsip, then defeated No. 10 Pawlak, 7-5 to take a 6-0 team lead. Barroquillo put the Warriors on the board with a 6-4 decision over Colby Rinehart, but the Tigers gained the momentum back with a 5-5 decision at 149-pounds and a pin at 157-pounds. Bennett and Grayson kept the Tech hopes alive with back-to-back decisions at 165 and 174-pounds, respectively. It wasn't quite enough though as Campbellsville won at 184 and 197-pounds to win the match, despite an upset at 285-pounds where Dunn (#15) pinned Justin McDaniel (#14) at 1:42.
The Warriors will take a break over the holidays before returning to the mats on Saturday, Jan. 4 when they travel to Campbellsville, Ky. to participate in the Campbellsville Duals hosted by Campbellsville University.
