TIFFIN, Ohio – After more than five weeks away from competition, the Otterbein wrestling team was finally able to get itself back onto the varsity mat Sunday at the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Quad.

The event, hosted by Heidelberg, also welcomed Mount Union and Wilmington for a traditional round-robin format.

After it was all said and done, the Cardinals walked away with a 1-2 mark… falling to Mount Union (34-21) and Heidelberg (40-15) before closing out the afternoon with a 39-18 triumph against the Quakers.

NOTABLE HIGHLIGHTS:

Joey Buckland (141), Ryan Whitten (157) and Jarod Setliff (197) all went undefeated on the day, posting 3-0 marks to lead the Cardinal effort.

Otterbein only trailed Mount Union 16-9 midway through the opening session, after a decision from Whitten, but the Raiders capitalized on a forfeit at 165 pounds and pulled away.

Another 4-0 decision from Whitten in the matchup with Heidelberg also made the deficit 16-9 halfway through. But, in a similar theme, the Berg' captured the next three bouts to create distance. Setliff stayed the course and secured a pin (over Da'veon Park) with just four seconds left in his match.

The Cardinals benefited from two forfeits against Wilmington in the finale and never looked back. Buckland delivered a fall less than two minutes in against Garrett Simmons, his third pin of the day, to complete a strong outing. His falls came at lengths of 1:53, 4:21 and 6:42 on the day.

Nathan Leko (18-2 tech fall) and Whitten (52-second pin) followed with bonus-point showings to help the team open a 29-0 lead.

Abdouraham Sallah (184) and Setliff also notched pins down the stretch. Garret Thomas and Abel Garantche won exhibitions on the day.


MOVING FORWARD:

Otterbein will return to action in early February, hosting Muskingum for an OAC dual inside the Rike Center at 7 p.m.