Lakeland, FL- UC men's wrestling journeyed to take on the 16^th-ranked Fire of Southeastern for their first MSC match of the season and the 18^th-ranked Eagles of Reinhardt. The Patriots were able to pick up the conference win over the Fire 20-19, before wrapping up the day with a 40-10 defeat over the Eagles. With the wins, the Patriots improve to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the MSC.

In the first match, Cumberlands and Southeastern battled hard for the conference win. At 125 pounds, Fifth-ranked Hayden Lee picked up the win by fall at 4:57 over Zac Branning to give UC an early 6-0 lead. First-ranked Jake Sinkovics, 133 pounds, also won by fall at 3:00 over sixth-ranked Ethan Owen, extending the Patriot lead to 12-0. The Fire captured the win at 141 pounds to shrink the deficit to 12-3. However, Cumberlands recovered with a win at 149 pounds as fourth-ranked Tres Leon defeated 14^th-ranked Dylan Chatterton in a 12-2 major decision, increasing UC's lead to 16-3.

After the first four classes, Southeastern went on a terror and won five consecutive classes to steal the lead. The Fire recorded three straight decision wins to shorten the UC lead to 16-12 then earned a major decision win to tie up the match at 16-16. At 197 pounds, Southeastern won in a decision to take the lead for the first time at 19-16. With UC down by three, 16^th-ranked Quandre Chisolm came in clutch with a 14-2 major decision over Ben Cruz for the Patriots to reclaim the lead and clinch the match 20-19.

The second match started in UC's favor and remained that way throughout as the Eagles were unable to match the Patriots. Fifth-ranked Lee gathered his second pin on the day as he defeated Johan Olarte at 2:11 for UC to go up 6-0. At 133 pounds, first-ranked Sinkovics also notched his second pin for the day by defeating William Wilson by fall at 1:34, pushing the Patriots ahead 12-0. Trent Leon, 141 pounds, earned a 15-3 major decision win over Curtis Doctor as UC took the 16-0 lead. Fourth-ranked Tres Leon tallied a win by fall at 1:28 over 18^th-ranked Kalvin Harris for Cumberlands to move ahead 22-0. At 157 pounds, Brady Emerson won in a 10-4 decision over 19^th-ranked Caleb Mariakis, giving UC a 25-0 lead halfway through.

In the 165 pound weight class, fourth-ranked Tristan Macri defeated Tate Holmes by fall at 1:46, allowing the Patriots a 31-0 lead. Reinhardt was able take wins at 174 and 184, shortening the lead to 31-10. At 197 pounds, ninth-ranked Eric Deluse won in a 13-4 major decision over 18^th-ranked Austin Brown for Cumberlands to go up 35-10. In the 285 pound class, 16^th-ranked Chisolm earned an 18-3 tech fall win over 15^th-ranked Hinton Bolinger as UC won the match 40-10.

The Patriots will be back on the mat in Walnut Ridge, AR on Saturday, December 9 for the Williams Baptist Duals. First dual is set for 10 a.m.

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