Wilkes    King's    Ferrum    Greensboro    Star City

SALEM, Va. – The Otterbein wrestling team enjoyed a strong trip down in Virginia over the weekend, going 2-2 at the challenging Southeast Duals on Saturday before claiming victory at Sunday's U.S. Marine Corps Star City Open.

Competition for both days took place inside the Salem Civic Center, with the Cardinals gathering dual wins over King's (43-8) and Greensboro (28-25) while dropping matchups with Wilkes (30-21) and then host Ferrum (33-18).

Otterbein (4-4) received perfect weekends from standouts Jackson Lakso (125), Corbin Bunsold (197) and heavyweight Drew Kasper, who all went a perfect 4-0 in the dual outings and then won individuals crowns come Sunday.

"It was a great weekend of competition and we are just trying to get better every day," Bunsold said. "A big key for myself is having guys like Jackson and Drew pushing me, while also wanting to be a role model for the younger guys. I'm excited to see how we all keep progressing."

The Cards received three-straight pins from freshman Jarrod Setliff (184), Bunsold and Kasper to finish the Wilkes dual, but were unfortunately just a little too far behind after getting pinned four times themselves in the middle bouts.

Otterbein quickly responded with a lopsided triumph over King's College from Pennsylvania, benefiting from four forfeits scattered around victories from Lakso and a trio of freshmen in Zach Altman (165), Blake Wickline (174) and Setliff.

The Cards came up shy against the host Panthers before squeaking one out against Greensboro in the nightcap, trailing 25-12 late before closing strong behind their big horses. Setliff and Bunsold both secured first-round pins to make the deficit 25-24, and Kasper sealed the come-from-behind rally with a 13-5 major decision.

Otterbein quickly regrouped and hit the mat Sunday morning at 10 a.m. for the Star City Open, finishing first of 15 schools behind three victories and multiple other placers. Lakso won his championship bout by technical fall, Kasper won his by pinfall, and Bunsold posted a major decision over teammate Luke Hess in the 197-pound final.

Hess had three pins in the bracket and settled for runner-up honors, Nate Temple finished third, Joey Bradberry took fourth, Setliff and Denver Aydelott took fifth, and Braden Neuberger contributed a sixth-place result toward the team score. Temple went 4-1 at heavyweight, losing only to Kasper, and secured all four of his victories by pin.

"I saw a lot of younger guys come out with a new mentality today, feeling fed up with maybe losing a close match and not wanting to settle for any moral victories. Everyone was hungry for some wins and to establish ourself as a program on the rise."

Otterbein will have Thanksgiving week off before getting back into Ohio Athletic Conference action, hosting a key dual with No. 6-ranked Mount Union come Tuesday, Nov. 27 inside the Rike Center.