MATCH RESULTS

TIFFIN, Ohio – The Otterbein wrestling team was dealt just its second loss of the season Tuesday evening on the road, falling by a score of 34-6 at Heidelberg University in an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) duals.

The Cardinals, now 9-2 on the season and 1-1 within the league, will regroup and be back on the mat this coming weekend at the Wabash College Max Duals in Crawfordsville, Ind.

A well-rounded Heidelberg team, coming off team championships at the Ohio Northern Invitational and Waynesburg Invitational, captured eight of the 10 matches to launch its conference schedule on a high note. The Student Princes have three wrestlers currently undefeated and three others boasting a .750 or higher winning percentage.

Freshman Jackson Lakso started the evening with a nice decision victory in the 125-pound matchup, outlasting his opponent, 4-2, to snag three initial points for the Cards.

The Student Princes took control from that point with a technical fall, major decision and then a forfeit to open a 15-3 advantage and never look back. Heidelberg's Hayden Bates stayed unbeaten on the year at 141 pounds, running his record to 13-0.

Freshman Willy Plaisir (13-2), the reigning OAC Wrestler of the Week, unfortunately took his first loss since late November at 157 pounds and then Heidelberg captured the next-three battles to clinch the match. Braden Neuberger's match at 174 pounds went right down to the wire until he absorbed a narrow loss, 8-7, and then Heidelberg's Dillen Decker, currently ranked No. 5 in the country, bumped his season mark to a perfect 16-0 in the 184-pound showdown.

Otterbein did manage to collect three additional points later on thanks to a nice victory from 197-pounder Drew Kasper, who returned from a slight injury to deliver a 12-7 decision. He now stands 12-1 on the season.

Heidelberg's Nino Majoy finished off the night with a pin, running his 285-pound heavyweight record to 7-0 this winter. The Student Princes were picked to finish third in the league back on Nov. 4, just two points behind the University of Mount Union.

Otterbein will be returning to OAC competition next Tuesday evening, hosting preseason favorite Baldwin Wallace University for a 7:30 p.m. start inside the Rike Center.