FINAL RESULTS

ALLIANCE, Ohio – The Otterbein wrestling team dropped its first Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) dual of the season Tuesday night on the road, coming up short in a dual with No. 11-ranked Mount Union.

The Purple Raiders, improving to 11-3 overall and 3-0 in league action, opened a 20-0 lead early on as the Cardinals would be unable to catch up. Mount ultimately emerged by a final team score of 38-6.

Otterbein, competing without a few starters that included top-ranked heavyweight Drew Kasper, now sits 13-3 on the year and 2-1 against the conference. The Cards will need to regroup quickly as they head to Tiffin this coming weekend for the OAC Quad Meet, with showdowns scheduled against Baldwin Wallace, Muskingum and host Heidelberg.

Otterbein forfeited the opening bout to fall behind 6-0, and then Jackson Lakso dropped a tough 6-2 decision in the second contest to No. 9-ranked David Massey. It was the first outing in almost two months for Lakso, who was nationally-ranked himself to begin the season before sustaining an injury.

Freshman Chris Hager (141 lbs) gained experience with a matchup against defending national champion Jordin James, who won a 133-pound title last year and now sits No. 3 in the country at 141. The Cards eventually hit the scoreboard when upstart newcomer Ryan Whitten tallied a 6-0 shutout decision. New to the most recent national rankings at 157 pounds, Whitten improves to a stellar 29-4 mark and now sits just three wins shy of Kasper's single-season record (32) from a year ago.

Joey Bradberry (174) came up on the low side of a narrow 6-3 decision, and senior Corbin Bunsold then faced some adversity against upset-minded George Lassnick in the following showdown at 184 lbs. The No. 21-ranked Bunsold was taken to the mat a few times early and had to fight off a near pin in the third period, reversing Lassnick and nearly securing a fall himself down the stretch. In the end, Bunsold prevailed by a 10-9 margin, upping his season record to 23-2.

The Purple Raiders, taking fifth at last year's NCAA Championships as a team, captured the final two bouts culminated by Chris Martinez filling in to take on No. 10-ranked Grant Martin.
Saturday's OAC Quad will begin at 10 a.m. The Cards open against No. 8-ranked BW, followed by the host Student Princes at noon and Muskingum come approximately 2 p.m.