Senior Clayton Davidson records 100th career victory as Wrestling finishes 0-3 on opening day at the Lycoming (Pa.) Budd Whitehill National Duals

By Blake Moore

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Senior grappler Clayton Davidson (Kirtland) became just the 13th wrestler in Ohio Northern history to capture 100 career victories after pinning Kyle Medrow from Wilkes (Pa.) Saturday afternoon, headlining the Polar Bear efforts at the 31st annual Lycoming (Pa.) Budd Whitehill National Duals in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

With his two wins Friday, Davidson improves to 101-45 in his four seasons at Ohio Northern, good for a .692 career winning percentage. He now ranks 12th in program history on the all-time career victories list after surpassing former student-athlete Paul Grigsby, who posted 100 wins in his career.

During the round-robin dual action, Ohio Northern finished 0-3 on the tournament's opening day, falling to 4-5 overall on the 2018-19 season. The Polar Bears will now battle for places 13-16 tomorrow, Saturday, January 12, in a tournament-style bracket.

Davidson joined junior 149-pounder Jeff Andrews (New Baltimore, Mich./Anchor Bay) and sophomores Austin Keeley (Marysville, Mich.) and Cash Thompson (Lake Odessa, Mich./Lakewood) with multiple victories on Friday. Andrews and Keeley rattled off three wins each while Thompson rebounded from a loss to Washington & Lee's (Va.) Brad Basham to claim his final two bouts.

Senior Dylan Dolph (Canton/South) and sophomore Schuyler Caprella (Harrod/Allen East) picked up the remaining two Polar Bear victories on the day.    

In their first round against 21st-ranked Washington & Lee (Va.), the Polar Bears trailed 17-0 through the opening three weight classes following forfeits at 125 and 133 alongside a tech fall triumph for the Generals at 141. However, ONU would respond with back-to-back victories as Andrews secured his fifth major decision this season at 149 while Caprella earned a hard-fought, 5-3 decision at 157. Keeley would end the dual on a high note for the Polar Bears with a 5-2 decision at 285, ending a four-bout win streak for the Generals that sealed their 32-10, opening-round victory.

Ohio Northern would outscore Wilkes (Pa.) 16-13 in the weight classes contested, but the Polar Bears were upended with a 31-16 scoreline due to three forfeited matches in their second bout. Andrews and Keeley would each claim their second wins on the day with decisions in extra time. Meanwhile, Davidson and Thompson picked up bonus-point wins with a pin at 174 and a major decision at 184, respectively.

The Polar Bears would end their day falling 24-15 in a tight dual with Springfield (Mass.). Northern would forfeit the 125, 133, and 197 bouts against the Pride, but managed to outscore the opposition 15-6 in the remaining seven matchups. After dropping the first three matches, the Orange and Black won five of the remaining seven bouts via decisions to close their first day at the event.

Ohio Northern is set to face off against Castleton (Vt.) while SUNY-Cortland and Southern Virginia also battle for places 13-16 at 9 a.m. tomorrow in the tournament-style brackets. The two winners will meet to compete for 13th in the tournament and the two losing teams will compete for 15th place at 12 p.m. on Saturday.

Ohio Northern 10, #21 Washington & Lee (Va.) 32

125 — Ethan Hartman (W&L) won via forfeit
133 — Charlie Cunningham (W&L) won via forfeit
141 — Zach Bylykbashi (W&L) tech fall Brandon Bartlome, 16-0, 4:59
149 — Jeff Andrews (ONU) major dec. Bryce Crew, 8-0
157 — Schuyler Caprella (ONU) dec. Joe Dunn, 5-3 
165 — Shane Conners (W&L) dec. Jordan Hardrick, 5-3
174 — Alecsander Horne (W&L) pinned Connor Kwiat, 1:00
184 — Rexx Hallyburton (W&L) dec. Clayton Davidson, 3-1
197 — Brad Basham (W&L) dec. Cash Thompson, 4-1
285 — Austin Keeley (ONU) dec. Clay Chadwick, 5-2

Ohio Northern 16, Wilkes (Pa.) 31

125 — Kyle Trout (WU) won via forfeit
133 — Dylan O'Connor (WU) won via forfeit
141 — Tommy Stokes (WU) dec. Brandon Bartlome, 5-2
149 — Jeff Andrews (ONU) dec. Kyle Medrow, 10-8
157 — John Ritter (WU) major dec. Schuyler Caprella, 12-0
165 — Nicholas Racanelli (WU) pinned Brody Bookless, 2:06
174 — Clayton Davidson (ONU) pinned Ashton Gyenizs, 2:33
184 — Cash Thompson (ONU) major dec. Alexis Santana-Quintana, 10-0
197 — Moustafa Almeky (WU) won via forfeit
285 — Austin Keeley (ONU) dec. Roger Horton, 7-4

Ohio Northern 15, Springfield (Mass.) 24

125 — Nick DeRosa (SC) won via forfeit
133 — Jacques St. Jean (SC) won via forfeit
141 — Mike Vietri (SC) dec. Brandon Bartlome, 4-2
149 — Jeff Andrews (ONU) dec. Bryce Finnegan, 4-2 
157 — Dylan Dolph (ONU) dec. Nick Monteleone, 5-3
165 — Ryan Harty (SC) dec. Schuyler Caprella, 3-1
174 — Clayton Davidson (ONU) dec. Aarin Feliz, 5-3
184 — Cash Thompson (ONU) dec. Severianel Burgos, 5-0
197 — Ryan Gray (SC) won via forfeit
285 — Austin Keeley (ONU) dec. Tyson Jones, 3-1