Wrestling concludes 2018 schedule with 3-0 record at Washington & Lee (Va.) Duals

By Blake Moore

LEXINGTON, Va. — The Ohio Northern wrestling program wrapped up their 2018 slate with three dual victories Monday, December 17, rolling past McDaniel (Md.), Averett (Va.), and Southern Virginia at the annual Washington & Lee (Va.) Duals inside the Duchossois Tennis Center in Lexington, Virginia.

The Polar Bears claimed the final five bouts in their opening match to capture a 33-12 victory over McDaniel. Northern then captured a 32-16 come-from-behind victory over Averett due to four successive wins in the upper-weight classes after trailing 16-10 through six weights. ONU capped their stay at the dual invitational with a rousing 34-9 win over Southern Virginia.

Following their undefeated 3-0 performance, the Polar Bears will enter the 2019 portion of their schedule sporting a 4-2 overall dual record on the season.

Senior Clayton Davidson (Kirtland), junior Seth Transue (Plain City/Dublin Jerome), and sophomore Cash Thompson (Lake Odessa, Mich./Lakewood) each registered 3-0 records Monday to lead the Polar Bear efforts.

Davidson racked up two major decision victories and a pin wrestling in the 184 weight class. Due to his performances, the senior now ranks tied for second on the team with 14 victories in the 2018-19 campaign.

Meanwhile, Transue also managed bonus-point victories in his three bouts at 125, capturing a pin, tech fall, and forfeit at the event. The junior from Plain City now leads the program with 16 victories this season and remains tied for first on the team with four tech falls.

At 197, Thompson pinned back-to-back opponents to open the day before toppling his final opponent via an 8-0 major decision triumph.

The Polar Bears also received multiple individual victories from freshmen Shaun Wagner (Southington, Conn.), Jordan Hardrick (Huber Heights/Wayne), Connor Kwiat (Bloomville/Tiffin Calvert), and sophomore Austin Keeley (Marysville, Mich.), who each tallied two victories during the outing.

In the opening match against McDaniel, Northern got out to an early lead when Transue pinned the Green Terror's Nicholas Malinowski in the first period. McDaniel rebounded quickly with two straight bonus-point victories at 133 and 141 before Wagner posted a 14-4 major decision to halt the advance. Northern would win the final five bouts, which included two pins and two major decisions, to win the opener 33-12.

Transue would kick off the second match in similar fashion, registering an 18-2 tech fall in just 3:03 to push ONU in front early against the Cougars. Averett also posted wins at the 133 and 141 weight classes before junior Jeff Andrews (New Baltimore, Mich./Anchor Bay) responded with his lone win Monday, a 19-0 tech fall in 4:04. The Cougars claimed decisions at 157 and 165 to take a 16-10 advantage, but Northern rolled through the final four weights to knock off the opposition.

Against Southern Virginia, Ohio Northern jumped to a 12-3 edge through three weight classes due to forfeit wins from Transue and junior Brandon Bartlome (Sheffield Village/Lorain) at 125 and 141, respectively. Wagner, senior Dylan Dolph (Canton/South), and Hardrick then posted three consecutive victories via a decision, major decision, and a tech fall, respectively, to build a 24-3 edge. Davidson and Thompson would add the remaining two individual victories to close the afternoon.

The Polar Bears will now break for the holidays and return to action in 2019 with a trip to the annual Bud Whitehill Duals on January 11 and 12. Bouts are expected to get underway at 9 a.m. each day in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Ohio Northern 33, McDaniel (Md.) 12

125 — Seth Transue (ONU) pinned Nicholas Malinowski, 2:53
133 — Ryker Eckenbarger (MC) tech fall Cameron Poulton, 15-0, 7:00
141 — Isaiah Edmond (MC) major dec. Brandon Bartlome, 9-1
149 — Shaun Wagner (ONU) major dec. Skylar Minutelli, 14-4
157 — Wade Bishop (MC) dec. Schuyler Caprella, 11-7 
165 — Jordan Hardrick (ONU) dec. Garrett Vandervalk, 4-2
174 — Connor Kwiat (ONU) pinned Cole Nagle, 2:32
184 — Clayton Davidson (ONU) major dec. Ronald Wuest, 9-1
197 — Cash Thompson (ONU) pinned Jamie Rodriguez, 1:01
285 — Austin Keeley (ONU) major dec. Chris Hauffman, 9-0

Ohio Northern 32, Averett (Va.) 16

125 — Seth Transue (ONU) tech fall Samuel Braswell, 18-2, 3:03
133 — Korpesh Gootee (AU) tech fall Cameron Poulton, 18-3, 6:28
141 — Brandon Woody (AU) tech fall Brandon Bartlome, 18-2, 6:28
149 — Jeff Andrews (ONU) tech fall Caleb Harmon, 19-0, 4:04
157 — Joshua Linkous (AU) dec. Schuyler Caprella, 9-7
165 — Jared Lough (AU) dec. Jordan Hardrick, 2-0
174 — Connor Kwiat (ONU) pinned Logan Howell, 2:35
184 — Clayton Davidson (ONU) major dec. Demontay Wimbush, 9-0
197 — Cash Thompson (ONU) pinned Christopher Mohr, 2:16
285 — Austin Keeley (ONU) pinned Thaddeus Wilkerson, 2:10

Ohio Northern 34, Southern Virginia 9

125 — Seth Transue (ONU) won via forfeit
133 — Aaron Freidhof (SVU) dec. Cameron Poulton, 8-4
141 — Brandon Bartlome (ONU) won via forfeit
149 — Shaun Wagner (ONU) dec. Ethan Workman, 8-4
157 — Dylan Dolph (ONU) major dec. Blaine Phillips, 14-6
165 — Jordan Hardrick (ONU) tech fall Kyle York, 18-1, 4:55
174 — Matthew Rohrdanz (SVU) dec. Connor Kwiat, 6-5
184 — Clayton Davidson (ONU) pinned Kage Tomlin, 2:19
197 — Cash Thompson (ONU) major dec. Matt Speelman, 8-0
285 — Alex Brunner (SVU) dec. Austin Keeley, 2-1