VARSITY RESULTS
JV RESULTS
PHOTO GALLERY (coming soon)

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Another tough challenge within the rugged Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) was on the menu for Otterbein during Tuesday night action in the Rike Center, as the Cardinals hosted No. 16-ranked Ohio Northern in the regular-season finale.

The Polar Bears jumped out to an early lead and eventually won (36-9) the varsity team score, improving themselves to a 20-3 overall record and 6-1 within the league. They will need Baldwin Wallace to lose at Mount Union this coming weekend in order to share the OAC regular-season crown.

The Cardinals rest with a 7-6 overall mark in head-to-head competition, 3-4 against the rest of the conference.

Prior to the match, Otterbein recognized a quartet of program veterans for Senior Night in the form of Cole Jackson, Jacob Williams, Joey Buckland and Ryan Whitten.

VARSITY RUNDOWN:

• ONU benefited from an early forfeit in the lowest weight class and eventually held a 19-0 lead. Otterbein freshman Zach Orseno (133 lbs) battled admirably before losing ground down the stretch, being forced to settle with a 9-4 decision loss.
   
• The Cards hit the scoreboard after yet another knock-down, drag-it-out, workmanlike performance by Whitten… dropping back down to 157 pounds after spending the entire season at 165. He compiled more than a minute of riding time early before relinquishing that in the third period, but grabbed an escape point in crunch time to slip away with a 1-0 triumph.
   
• Williams saw a few nice moments early in his bout before succumbing to nationally-ranked Jordan Hardrick at 165.
   
• Freshman Logan Cormell had an extreme nail-biting contest at 174, trading escape points with Adam Myers before the bout headed to extra time locked at 1-1. Unfortunately, Myers secured a takedown later in sudden victory.
   
• Kyle De Moss jockeyed for positioning with a 30-win performer in Gavin Layman at 184 pounds, but came up short in a tough 8-1 slugfest.
   
• Jarrod Setliff pinned Ben DePrest for the second time in 10 days, doing so this time with 20 seconds left in the first period. He also won the matchup (in 2:14) at the recent Wheaton Invitational, where he went on to earn runner-up status.

EXTRA SLATE:

• Both schools also faced off in more than a dozen exhibition bouts across the night, starting an hour before the varsity dual and finishing off shortly afterward. Caiden Hooks (pin), Gary Steele (major decision), Carter Mottley and Conner Roback all picked up solid victories.

LOOKING AHEAD:

• The Cardinals will now have over two weeks to prepare for the NCAA Central Regionals, hosted this year by Case Western Reserve up in Cleveland. The top three in each weight class will automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships.