Williamsburg, KY – UC wrestling opened their season hosting their annual Patriot Open. Austin Franco and Bryce Nickel would earn championship honors in their respective weight classes.

#16 Franco started his day getting a fall over Jeremiah Henderson (Marian). In that match he got a takedown and a 4-point nearfall.  In his next match Franco faced Arie Reyes (unattached). During the match Franco would notch two takedowns and two 2-point nearfalls on his way to a victory. Franco would then face Jahvar Lewis (Midway), where he would win by a 5-3 decision. In the semifinals, Franco would get an injury win over Esau Bazilme (Southeastern). In the finals, Franco would go head-to-head against #6 Koby Milner (Reinhardt). During the match, Franco would notch two takedown in the first period, then another in the second period. Then in the final period Franco would get taken down then reversed it for points. After a penalty 1 by Milner, Franco would get another takedown. Franco would get the win by decision 11-6. Head Coach Corey Ruff said, "Austin Franco has had the look of a champion in his eye, and in his training, since the day he got back to campus. He backed that up today and had an overall dominating performance."

#4 Nickel started his day facing Tyrell Simmons (Life). Early in that match Nickel would score an early takedown and win by fall in 58 seconds. In his second match, he would see Matthew Johnson (Truett-McConnell), where he would get a takedown and a 4-point nearfall to win the match. Nickel would win another match by medical forfeit, then see Rex McDaniel (Life) in the semifinals. During the match, Nickel would get two takedowns, a 2-point nearfall and win by decision. In the finals he would take on #14 Kyle Kantola (Indiana Tech). This match would be closely contested and go into a sudden death overtime, where Nickel would notch a takedown to get the win by decision 4-2. Coach Ruff said, "Nickel got taken down late in the first period in the finals and won a very tactical match against a quality opponent. Champions do whatever it takes to find a way to win, and that's exactly what Bryce did with his 3rd period ride out to send the match into Sudden Victory."

#12 Gage Hudson was able to finish in second place in the 133-weight class. His first opponent was Micheal Bush (unattached). Hudson got the major decision win 10-2. Then Hudson would get his second major decision against Jared Brown (Marian) 13-5. He would then go on to defeat Reakus Shelton (Indiana Tech) by decision 8-3. In the finals, Hudson would take on Stephen Roberson (Marian), where he would lose by fall.

#17 Jacob McNutt would see a bye in the first round, then go head-to-head against Jacob Schrader (Marian). McNutt would get a 10-0 major decision in that match. Next, he would face Zackary Silver (Bluefield). He would get an early takedown, which led to a fall win. Then he would face Miguel Angel Hernandez (unattached), where he would get the 5-3 decision win. In the semifinals he would get a forfeit win and advance to the finals, where he met #8 Elliott Rodgers (Marian). McNutt would get taken down in the first period then would get a point as he escaped. In the third period McNutt started on the bottom and got another point for escaping. In the final seconds Rodgers would get a takedown that would get him the win by decision 4-2.

Looking at other notable finishes, three Patriots third place finishes in their respective weight classes,  #12 Gabe Jacobs (4-1), #14 Chasen Brown (4-1), O'Brian Black, and DeVaughn Sapien (4-1). While Jarod Swank (2-3) would finish the day with a top-10 finish.

Coach Ruff also added, "We had a good past two weeks of preparation, and we were ready. We are missing some technical things and that is costing us some critical scoring opportunities. We will fix that soon. The coaching staff is proud of this team today. Our most successful guys were extremely coachable throughout their matches today. We have worked hard as a staff to earn their trust, and we are so excited to see where we go from here now that we know our starters are completely bought in."

Aaron Johnson represented Team Jamaica in the men's freestyle 125 kg division at the UWW U23 World Championships. Johnson went head-to-head with Paris Karepi from the Republic of Albania. The match went the whole time, but Johnson would suffer a lost by points (5-0) 3-0.

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