Corbin, KY - The fifth-ranked Men's Wrestling team placed third at the Battle in the Bluegrass on Friday at The Corbin Arena. The Patriots scored 138.5 team points and had nine wrestlers place in the invitational, including three runner-up finishes by Chandlar Akins, Gage Hudson, and Greyson Stevens.

Chandlar Akins, ranked 12th in the NAIA, competed in the 133-weight class and placed second with a 3-1 record. He opened the day with back to back technical fall victories of 16-0 over Trevon Hawkins-Roberts (Keiser) and Hector Holguin (York). Akins continued that success by defeating #6 Luke Rioux (Indiana Tech) in a close 5-3 decision, scoring on a 3-point takedown and 2-point reversal. The graduate student fell in his final match to #1 Thaddeus Long (Life) to give the Patriots 18 team points.

In the 141-weight class, eighth ranked Gage Hudson also finished second on the day with a 3-1 record. He started by notching a fall of 3:00 over Marco Gandy (Waldorf). Hudson matched up against David Coptsias (St. Andrews University) in the second round where he won by an impressive 26-7 technical fall. He scored eleven points in the first period on a 4-point nearfall, 3-point takedown, 2-point nearfall, and a reversal. Hudson fininshed the match with twelve points in the third period, marking two 3-point takedowns, a 4-point nearfall, an escape, and riding time. The graduate student went on to face #18 Conner Kimbrough (Indiana Tech) in the next round, defeating him in a narrow 5-4 decision and scoring all his points in the second period on a 3-point takedown and two escapes. Hudson fell to #7 Thomas Williams (St. Thomas) in his final match of the day.

The third Patriots to finish second in the invitational was 15th ranked Greyson Stevens in the 197-weight class. Stevens posted a 2-1 record and added 18 points to the Patriots team score for his efforts. He took on Ryan Sirico (Keiser) in the opening round and notched a fall of 2:41 to move on. In the second round, he secured an 8-0 major decision victory over #21 Dylan Meiners (St. Ambrose). Stevens scored on two 3-point takedowns, an escape, and riding time in the match. He went on to face Clay Guenin (Marian) but fell in a close 4-3 decision.

In the 165-weight class, Weston Melvin collected a third place finish after going 4-1 on the day. Melvin opened the day with a bye through the first round of play. In his first bout of the day, he notched a fall in 2:09 over Gage Eckles (Marian) to advance to the third round. In the third round, he won in convincing fashion with a 23-5 technical fall over Jaydon Dungan (York), highlighted by eleven unanswered points in the first period on two 4-point nearfalls and a 3-point takedown. Melvin would fall in his next match to Austin Paradice (Life) in a 5-3 decision. The junior was able to bounce back with a 3-0 decision victory over Angel Hernandez (Keiser), tallying an escape, riding time, and a penalty. In the third place match, Melvin ended the day strong by defeating Braden Getz (Marian) by technical fall, 18-0 and scoring 17 points for his team.

In the 285-weight class, Austin Silva collected a third place finish after going 4-1 on the day. In his first bout of the day, he notched a fall of 1:30 over Malaki Morales-Perez (York) to advance to the second round. In his next match, he used a 4-point nearfall, a 3-point takedown, and an escape in an 8-1 decision win against Ty Cobb (Lourdes). Silva went on to face #3 Earnest Johnson (Life) but fell by a 4-2 decision. The sophomore was able to bounce back against Ralph Riche (St. Thomas) in a 2-0 decision, tallying an escape and riding time. In the third place match, Silva faced Cobb for a second time, this time winning by a 5-0 decision to give the Pats 14.5 points.

Trenton Pagaduan also competed in the 133-weight class for UC and finished fourth with a 3-2 record. In his first match, he defeated Lane Wishart (St. Thomas) with a fall of 4:49. Pagaduan advanced to face Landon Bertsch (Marian) where he won in a 13-7 decision. He was then defeated by #1 Thaddeus Long (Life) in his next match. The junior responded well against Jerry Molina (St. Thomas), marking a 7-4 decision with two 3-point takedowns and an escape. Pagaduan moved on to face #6 Luke Rioux (Indiana Tech) in the third place match but fell.

In the 174-weight class, TJ Huber collected a fourth place finish after posting a 3-2 record. In his first bout of the day, Huber recorded a dominant 20-2 technical fall victory over Shane Brakke (Keiser), scoring eight points in both the first and second periods. The graduate student continued that momentum in an 8-1 decision win against Justin Bartee (Rio Grande) to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinal matchup against #4 Steven Villalobos (Life), he fell just short of the mark and was sent to the backside of the bracket. On the backside, Huber responded in his matchup with Jeivan Ross (St. Thomas), marking a close 7-5 decision to send him to the bout for third place. In his final bout of the day, Huber fell just short against Anthony Sartori (St. Ambrose) and ended up claiming fourth place in the 174 bout.

The other Patriot to compete in the 141-weight class was Eli Peyton who placed fifth with a 2-2 record. Peyton opened with a bye through the first round of play. In his first bout of the day, he went up against #18 Conner Kimbrough (Indiana Tech) but fell in a 9-6 decision. Peyton responded in a major way, defeating David Coptsias (St. Andrews University) by a 21-6 technical fall. The junior dropped his next match to #20 Cole McKinley (Lourdes) before ending the day with a 14-3 major decision victory over Guiseppe Guerra (St. Ambrose) to place fifth.

Jace Luchau, ranked third in the NAIA, competed in the 149-weight class and placed sixth. In his first two matches of the day, Luchau notched a fall in both bouts (0:31, 4:19) to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinal match, he fell to #25 David Pierson due to an injury. The senior would not return after that due to a medical forfeit but still placed sixth.

UC will be off until after the New Year begins on Friday, January 10 – Saturday, January 11 where they will head to Waterloo, Iowa to compete in the NWCA/NAIA National Duals.

"The Christmas break was very much earned, and is very much needed for all of us," said Head Coach Corey Ruff. "When we return, we will have less than 10 weeks to sharpen our skills and find out what we can become."

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