FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The No. 17-ranked Indiana Tech men's wrestling team had a great turnout at their annual Warrior Duals Saturday inside the Schaefer Center, defeating Sooner Athletic Conference rival and No. 12-ranked Lourdes University, 39-7, dominating Thomas More University, 44-6, and falling to No. 4-ranked Marian University 28-18.
The Warriors found themselves down 3-0 after the opening match at 125-lbs. to the Gray Wolves, but a pin from
Matthew Gimson put Tech up 6-3. Lourdes regained the lead after the 141-lbs. bout with a major decision, but it was all Tech after that as the hosts won the last seven matches of the dual to run away with the 39-7 victory.
Gaige Torres,
Nick Gates and
AJ Fowler all won by decision, with Fowler knocking off No. 17-ranked Alec Moore-Nash in the 285-lbs. bout, 5-0.
Rahman Johnson,
Scottie Sopko and
Josh Hill all scored pins at 165, 174 and 197-lbs, respectively, with Johnson and Hill pinning their opponents in the first period.
It was all Tech from the start in their second dual of the day against the Saints, as they earned bonus points in their first six bouts to never put the decision in doubt.
Steven Garty,
Matthew Gimson,
Conner Gimson,
Rhett Newton and
Sam York all notched pins in their matches while
Nate Wheeler scored a 16-1 tech fall. Sopko improved to 2-0 on the afternoon with a 10-5 victory to extend Tech's match streak to seven straight. Thomas More got their first win of the match at 184-lbs. as No. 9-ranked Avery Jones defeated No. 15-ranked
Eric Vermillion, 10-5.
In the most-anticipated matchup of the afternoon between the top two wrestling programs in Indiana, the Orange and Black jumped out to a 12-0 lead thanks to a forfeit at 125-lbs. and a third-period fall for
Matthew Gimson over No. 15-ranked Trey McCartney in the 133-lbs. bout.
Conner Gimson took No. 4-ranked Brandon James to full time at 141-lbs. and dropped a hard-fought 8-3 match. The Knights would storm back with three more wins, including a pin from No. 18-ranked Brooks Davis at 165-lbs. and a fall in seven seconds by No. 11-ranked Brett Johnson at 165-lbs. to go up 18-12 with four matches to go.
Marian took a pair of down to the wire victories at 174 and 184-lbs, winning 3-2 and 3-1 to extend their advantage to 24-12 as
Scottie Sopko and
Eric Vermillion fell to the No. 14
th and No. 5
th-ranked wrestlers in their respective weight classes. The visitors clinched the match with a 13-5 major decision at 197-lbs. before Fowler notched his second win of the day with a pin in the second period to close out the day.
Tech (3-3) returns to action on January 4, 2020 as they make the short trip down US 24 and State Road 114 for the Spartan Mat Classic, hosted by Manchester University. Meet time is set for 9 a.m. from Stauffer-Wolfe Arena inside the Physical Education and Recreation Center.