FINAL BRACKETS
TEAM SCORES

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. – The Cardinal wrestling team finished off its stay at the NCAA Central Regional with a handful of memorable matches Saturday afternoon, headlined by junior heavyweight Drew Kasper becoming Otterbein's first-ever champion.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

* Kasper continued his glide through the 285-pound division, opening with a 16-1 technical fall over James Ritchie (Baldwin Wallace) before the punctuation mark in the championship showdown. He posted a 17-6 major decision of Wabash's Wade Ripple in his own gym, making it four-straight bonus-point wins and upping his perfect record to 29-0.
 
* Jackson Lakso (133) and Corbin Bunsold (197) unfortunately came up just short in qualifying for NCAA's, both walking away with fourth place and admirable podium finishes.
 
* Lakso lost to eventual champion Jordin James to begin the day, bounced back with a quick major decision and then dropped a back-and-forth showdown with Owen Doster (Wabash) in the third-place match. Lakso held an early lead before the score flip-flopped multiple times, with Doster ultimately emerging, 9-8, after a reversal in the closing minute.
 
* Bunsold dropped his semifinal opener to the top seed, also responded with a nice decision and then fell victim to Heidelberg's Tyler Hammack again in a knock-down, drag-it-out bout that ended 5-1.
 
* Donny Didion suffered a loss in his day-two opener before culminating with a nice pin at 2:26 in the seventh-place bout. His efforts helped give Otterbein four regional placers.
 
 
INSIDE THE RESULTS:

* Kasper matches Bunsold's previous single-season record of 29 victories, and will look to hit the 30-win plateau in early March.
 
* Bunsold finishes the year 27-7, Lakso finishes 27-8 and Didion culminates his campaign with 17 wins. All three are juniors and scheduled to return next season.

* Otterbein took eighth place overall in the 19-team field with 64.5 points, just five points behind Heidelberg in sixth.

 
WHAT THEY SAID:

"I think this is a great way to represent the team and our university on the national stage again," Kasper said about returning to the NCAA Championships. "Last year didn't go well and I have been waiting to go back and prove to everyone, including myself, what I'm really capable of. I know what to expect, will go one match at a time and try to bring a national title back to Otterbein."

 
UP NEXT:

Kasper (29-0) will compete at the NCAA Championships on March 8-9 at Berglund Center in Roanoke, Va. More details and full preview to come soon.