URBANA RESULTS
WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein wrestling team has reached the midway point of its 2018-19 season after a handful of recent duals, competing in the Kent State Tuscarawas event before showdowns at Cleveland State and Urbana.
The Cardinals, now an even 7-7 in head-to-head matchups on the year, will have a month to rest up and regroup before hosting Lourdes University on January 12 inside the Rike Center.
Otterbein began its culminating push to 2018 with three outings in New Philadelphia on Saturday, opening with a 32-15 loss against rugged Mott Community College before responding with victories against Toledo (30-28) and KSU Tuscarawas (39-18).
Jarrod Setliff (184) and
Luke Shively (285) both went a perfect 3-0 on the day while
Hunter Thornsberry,
Joey Tromba and
Braden Neuberger were double winners.
The Cardinals then implemented a full starting lineup on Sunday at Division I Cleveland State but had to settle for a 47-6 setback. Junior 125-pounder
Jackson Lakso, ranked 11th nationally, held a nice lead in the opening bout before unfortunately getting caught and pinned by Cameron Lathem at the 4:11 mark.
Junior
Corbin Bunsold, ranked at 197 pounds and fresh off a title at the Ohio Northern Invitational, suffered his first loss of the season with a tough major decision to Ben Smith. Classmate
Drew Kasper, 14th in the country at heavyweight, secured Otterein's six points by pinning Jacob Adams shortly into the second period.
Otterbein bounced back for a dual win at Urbana come Tuesday night, rallying from a 17-9 deficit to win the last four bouts and post a 30-17 triumph. The Cards held an early 9-3 lead following wins from Lakso and Ryan Jukubiak before the Knights jumped ahead.
Sam Shalvey tallied a key 11-7 decision in the 174-pound match, which led to a narrow matchup between Setliff and Urbana's Connor Dixon at 184 lbs. Dixon, who had pinned Setliff earlier this season, held a very late 9-7 lead before a reversal from Setliff led to a pin with just 10 seconds remaining.
That revenge moment thrusted the Cards to an 18-17 lead, and the big boys took it home from there as Bunsold (4:54) and Kasper (1:08) both registered falls. Lakso, Bunsold and Kasper are now a combined 50-3 on the season.
The Cardinals have faced some stiff competition, squaring off against two Division I opponents, three Division II schools and then No. 6-ranked Mount Union in an early league dual. Otterbein, 1-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, will have a key OAC Quad Meet at Baldwin Wallace on January 19 before taking part in the Wheaton Invitational the following week.
Full individual stats page will be updated as soon as complete box scores are available from the KSU Tuscarawas event.
