Corbin, KY - The #8 University of the Cumberlands Men's Wrestling team opened the 2025-26 campaign with a strong showing at the Pepsi Patriot Open, hosted at The Corbin Arena. Facing a field of 31 teams, the Patriots placed fifth overall and brought home six individual podium finishes, including one champion and a trio of fifth-place efforts. 

Leading the charge for UC was Rider Trumble, who went undefeated on the day to claim the individual title in the 165-weight class. After earning a first-round bye, Trumble opened his day with a pin at 1:42 over #23 Ayden Wilson (Lourdes University). He followed that with a commanding 12-7 decision against Emmanuel Akpadija (Marian), scoring on three 3-point takedowns, a 2-point reversal, and an escape. In his third match, Trumble recorded his second fall of the day at 3:27 over Logan Saller (Cumberland University). He then moved on to the championship match after a forfeit. In the championship match, he defeated Xavier Barnhart (Southeastern) by a 5-0 decision, notching a 3-point take down, an escape, and riding time to take home the title.  

Matteo Vargo, ranked third in the NAIA, finished fourth in the 125-weight class with a 5-2 record. He opened the tournament with a dominant 16-0 technical fall over Jorge Bravo (Lindsey Wilson), recording a 4-point nearfall, three 3-point takedowns, a 2-point nearfall, and an escape. Vargo then notched a fall of 5:48 over Amari Harden (Campbellsville) before suffering his first defeat to Cole Hunt (Montevallo) by decision. Vargo would bounce back in a big way with an impressive 20-3 technical fall of #17 Trevor Hisey (Indiana Tech). In his next two matches, he earned back-to-back narrow decision victories over Jacob Bucci (Southeastern) and teammate Elijah Valenica (UC) by scores of 8-7 and 1-0, respectively. His last match of the day was ruled a no contest.  

Malachi Evans had a nice day on the mat, placing fifth with a 4-2 record in the 197-bout. He opened with a bye, before falling in his first match to Ashton Boswell (Campbellsville) by major decision. Evans responded with a fall of 2:06 over Caleb Cohee (Sienna Heights). He followed that up with an 11-2 major decision win over Jeremiah Finch (Marian), tallying three 3-point takedowns and a couple of points on penalties. In his fourth match, Evans recorded his second fall of the day, this one being at 4:23 against Jason Brown (Andrew College). He would then fall to Grant Anderson (Bellarmine) before ending his day with another fall of 0:52 over Standford Thompson (Lindsey Wilson).  

Wyatt Johnston went 6-2 on the day to take home a fifth-place finish at 165. He opened his tournament with a commanding 8-1 decision over Graiden Troth (Defiance College), using a pair of takedowns, an escape, and over a minute of riding time to control the match. In his second bout, Johnston faced Blaise Meeks (Cumberland University) and was pinned at the 3:00 mark. Bouncing back in the consolation bracket, Johnston edged Xaviour Akpan (Marian University) by a slim 1-0 decision, scoring the match's only point with a third-period escape. He then rolled to a 13-4 major decision over Sebastian Prisbe (Rochester Christian), tallying four 3-point takedowns and riding time. Continuing his run, Johnston notched a 7-5 decision over Logan Saller (Cumberland University), picking up takedowns in the second and third periods to secure the win. He dropped a 4-0 decision to Zack Lopez (Rio Grande) in the consolation semifinals but closed out the day with back-to-back uncontested victories — receiving a no contest over Nick Piontkowski (Bellarmine) and a forfeit from Julian Gonzalez (Keiser) — to finish fifth overall. 
 

Elijah Valencia went 4-2 on the day to earn a fifth-place finish at 125. He opened the tournament with a dominant 13-2 major decision over Brandon Didat (Pikeville), scoring three 3-point takedowns and a 2-point nearfall to control the match from start to finish. In his next bout, Valencia notched his first fall of the season, pinning Colin Noel (Lindsey Wilson) in 2:25. He continued his momentum with a 4-3 decision over #15 Brodie Christmas (Southeastern), using a second-period takedown and an escape to edge out the win. Valencia then fell to #25 Jordan Rodriguez (Cleary University) in the quarterfinals and dropped a narrow 1-0 decision to teammate #3 Matteo Vargo, giving up a second-period escape in a defensive battle. Valencia closed out the day on a high note, earning fifth place with a medical forfeit victory over Thomas Zielinski (Cornerstone). 

Marc LeGaspe went 3-3 on the day to finish sixth in the 157-weight class. He opened the tournament with a 5-2 decision over Bode Wilson (Cornerstone), using a 3-point takedown, an escape, and a strong rideout to control the bout. In his second match, LeGaspe picked up a dominant 14-3 major decision over Brandon Harris (Briar Cliff). He advanced to the quarterfinals by medical forfeit over #13 Louden Stradling (Cleary) before facing Carson Freeman (Montevallo), where he dropped an 8-1 decision. LeGaspe moved into the consolation bracket, where he fell by major decision to Justin Krebs (Southeastern), then battled Christian Arberry (Marian University) in a tight 3-1 loss to close out the day with a sixth-place finish. 

The Patriots will return to action Friday, November 7th, as they travel to Midway, KY to take on the Eagles in their first conference dual of the season.  

For all the latest on Cumberlands Wrestling, visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com and follow @UC_Patriots and @UCPatsGameday on Twitter, Instagram @UCPatriots, TikTok @ucpatriots, and on YouTube and Facebook by searching "University of the Cumberlands Athletics."