FULL RESULTS
 
Indianapolis, IN – Despite a split day, Patriots men's wrestling had a strong showing individually at the Marian Duals. Cumberlands picked up their first win of the season in their duals opener against Marian, 26-18, meanwhile falling short of a comeback in a relatively even match-up with #5 Indiana Tech.
 
#11 Cumberlands defeats #13 Marian, 26-18
The Patriots opened the day with four straight wins en route to their first dual win of the season.  Six individuals picked up victories in the opening dual, including Chasen Brown knocking off his higher-ranked opponent at 149 pounds.
 
Brown, 18th himself, was taken down midway through the first period, leading to working from behind in the second period. Against #9 Bailey Moore, Brown scored a critical takedown at the edge of the ring to take the 4-2 advantage. Brown's comeback was complete in the 4-3 decision, as he was able to hold off his opponent from scoring in the third.
 
Austin Franco, fourth in the NAIA, started the day strong at 125 pounds with a takedown and four-point nearfall for an early lead against Ty Haskins. The 17th ranked lightweight noted a few escapes to close the gap but Franco opened up in the final period to take the 14-9 margin.
 
After a forfeit win for newcomer Alex Slates at 133, 141-pounder Bryce Nickel offered a win as well for the Patriots. He picked up the major decision with the riding time bonus, 11-3. After a scramble of lead changes in the first period, Nickel dominated his opponent into the second and third periods, Racking up riding time while noting two takedowns and an escape.
 
Patriots fell in the next four bouts, allowing Marian a comeback chance and ultimately relinquishing the lead at one point. Sam Morris fell in his match-up at 157, overpowered in 16-5 major. At 165, Turner Black was taken down first by #17 Elliott Rodgers, his first ranked loss of the season with the 10-2 major.
 
After an early scramble, Charlie Friedenreich was first to score against Matt Burns of Marian but lost his footing in the second period, leading to being pinned. Gabe Jacobs fell short of a comeback against #5 Sam Osho, holding on in the second period but lost momentum in the third, leading to another major.
 
With Marian now leading 18-16, Harold Gilmore fought off a single-leg attempt right out of the gate at 197. He rounded out a takedown as well to score first against #20 Austin Lane. The second period brought two tilts, a two point-nearfall given, while riding out the entire period. He claimed more rolls in his favor, getting more nearfalls to claim his first ranked dual victory in a 12-4 major.
 
Patriots led 20-18 into the final bout; it came down to the heavyweights. Aaron Johnson, fourth in the NAIA, represented Cumberlands on the mat and got a takedown shortly into the first period. Johnson held on to ride the second period, breaking down Marian's David Delph. Johnson dominated, working toward the 4:26 fall to close out the dual in Cumberlands' favor.
 
#11 Cumberlands falls to #5 Indiana Tech, 22-18
The Patriots almost made a comeback against a top-five ranked team later in the morning, as they picked up wins in the final three bouts of the day. Nickel and Jacobs picked up the biggest wins of the day, knocking off higher-ranked grapplers.
 
Nickel held on to win over #6 Conner Gimson at 141 pounds. He was taken down first by his opponent, and was able to rally back to narrow the margin going into the second, 2-1. Roles reversed in the second to tie up the match at three all. Nickel noted an edcape within 30 seconds of the final period to take the edge. A takedown with under a minute to go sealed the victory, as he held off Gimson for the final seconds.
 
Jacobs went toe-to-toe with #15 Josue Hill, who had the advantage heading into the second period, 5-2. Jacobs, meanwhile, has proven to be stronger working with advantage on top, as he was able to collect several nearfalls to overcome the deficit. He rode out the entire second period as he did in his first match of the day. He went on to get the fall in the third period, turning momentum back in the Patriots favor.
 
Harold Gilmore picked up his second win of the day, an 8-1 decision. He dominated scoring in the affair as he looked for bonus points. He came short, noting only a decision, putting the dual out of reach. Johnson picked up the final win of the day, easily handling #17 Vernon Willis en route to a decision win.
 
Up Next
Patriots look ahead to a road trip to Midway on Wednesday, where they will open the Mid-South Conference season. Midway is receiving votes in the recent NAIA poll, led by sixth-ranked wrestler Kevin Almond at 157. The dual is set to begin at 7 PM.
 
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