Columbia, KY – A pin by Eric Deluse gave fifth-ranked Cumberlands a Mid-South Conference regular season championship and a 26-14 win over #8 Lindsey Wilson on Tuesday night. The men's wrestling squad bested MSC opponents all season, remaining an unbeaten 7-0 in conference duals. The Patriots tab a 14-3 record on the year after handing the Blue Raiders their second MSC loss.
 
Hayden Lee, ranked third in the 125 lbs. weight class, squared off against Jacob Dodd to open the night for Cumberlands. Lee got an early takedown, leading to the 37-second pin to start the night off right with a Patriots 6-0 lead.
 
Continuing his winning ways, Jacob Seto, seventh at 133, took the mat against ninth-ranked Brady Moser for an individual top-10 duel. Seto used his speed to overpower Moser and comeback from two takedowns, tying up the bout at four apiece by the end of the second period. A late takedown by Seto helped the Patriots ride out another victory, taking the 6-5 decision.
 
Chasen Brown was able to remain defensive, holding off sixth-ranked Trent Johnson. The Blue Raiders took the 141 lbs. weight class with an 11-5 decision to close the score margin to 9-3.
 
Tres Leon, ranked first in the 149 weight class, earned the first takedown seconds into the duel, besting Luis Puig. Within the first minutes of the opening period, the junior wrangled two four-point nearfalls to extend the match lead. Puig would be unable to free the hands of top-ranked Leon, as the Patriots advance with an 19-2 tech fall 3:51 into the bout.
 
Weighing in at 156 lbs., #12 Bobby Ehman matched up against #14 Mark Taijeron. Ehman tallied the first takedown just over a minute into the round, while his opponent matched with his own. Ehman did his best to pin an exhausted Taijeron, getting close to the call a few times. After a takedown though, Ehman was able to ride out a 6-4 decision to open the Patriots' scoring margin again, 17-3.
 
The Patriots subsequently lost the next three bouts to ranked opponents, losing major decisions in the 165 and 184 lbs. weight classes, narrowing the score to a 17-14 gap. Cumberlands men's wrestling squad, however, would not allow the Blue Raiders to come away with a victory.
 
Deluse swung the momentum back to the Patriots favor with a big win in the 197-pound duel. Ranked sixth, the junior took down #20 Avery Buckman and collected a nearfall in less than 30 second of action. Deluse earned the pin 2:39 into the round to seal the win for the second week in a row and the MSC regular season championship.
 
Quandre Chisolm, ranking eighth among the heavyweights, pressed on to knock off Raynel Brown. Chisolm was able to ride out the 3-0 decision after an escape and takedown.
 
With Tuesday night's win, the Patriots men's wrestling team tallied their third consecutive regular season championship. UC looks to keep the momentum, going into the MSC tournament after a weekend of rest.
 
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