SANDUSKY, Ohio – The Otterbein wrestling team completed the 2022 portion of its bridge schedule Saturday at the annual Kalahari Duals, hosted once against by Heidelberg at a resort nearby.

The Cardinals finished 1-2 on the day after enduring a close defeat, besting Mount St. Joseph to begin the day before a narrow loss to Adrian in the middle portion. Otterbein then closed with a tough matchup against nationally-ranked Loras.

Senior Ryan Whitten, fresh off his title at the Ohio Northern Invitational, went a perfect 3-0 on the day while Nathan Leko, Jarrod Setliff, Austin Amens and Andrew Sas all tallied multiple victories as well in the varsity slate. Freshman Logan Cormell had a pair of wins competing across both sections.

In addition, the Cardinals also competed in "second team" duals with both Adrian and Loras.

MOUNT ST. JOSEPH RECAP (W 32-10):

Otterbein began pulling away after a few weight classes, getting decisions from Eric Saddler (125) and Sas before timely pins from Leko and Amens. Whitten ensued with a tech fall before Logan Cormell (5-0 decision) and Setliff (87-second pin) helped create little double in the final outcome.

ADRIAN RECAP (L 26-24):

A tight slugfest went right down to the wire, although a pair of quick pins forced Otterbein into a 12-0 hole. The Cards began working back from there with four-straight wins, beginning with Sas in sudden victory at 141 lbs…

Leko eeked out a 2-1 decision followed by pins from Amens and Whitten propelled the team into an 18-12 cushion. Adrian responded with two bonus-point wins leading into the heavier classes but a critical pin from Setliff gave the Cards a 24-23 edge.

Unfortunately, the Bulldogs would emerge with a narrow 3-1 decision at the heavyweight spot to claim the victory.

LORAS RECAP (L 42-9):

The Duhawks won the initial five classes and never trailed, with Otterbein victories coming via Whitten (4-1 decision) and a forfeit to Zac Stray at heavyweight. Amens dropped a 12-5 decision after battling across the entire seven minutes.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS:

Otterbein will now have a month off from official competition before getting back to action at the Case Western Reserve Duals come mid-January.