NORTH MANCHESTER, IND. – Fueled by six wins in the first seven matches Friday, Jan. 22, Manchester University made sure it sent its Class of 2016 out in style in regards to home dual action.
The Spartans, improving to 2-9, received a pair of falls from sophomore 157-pounder Alex Arney (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and junior 174-pounder Dylan Lauffer (Fairfield, Ohio) in the opening span to help stake themselves to a 28-3 advantage in front of a happy crowd at Stauffer-Wolfe Arena. Despite a brief rally by the visiting Thunder (1-14) in which they won two of the final three match-ups by major decisions, the Black and Gold ended the evening with their third successive win in the series, this one coming by a 31-11 count.
"I really wanted to see us start off strong," Coach Kevin Lake said. "(Sophomore 141-pounder) Chase (Wilson of Peru, Ind.) had a strong effort, and (senior 149-pounder) Josh (Juarez of South Bend, Ind.) has been turning the corner, so it was good to see that open the evening. We knew we had to get going like that, too, because the last three matches were going to be a strong test. We hoped to get two of the three, but it didn't happen that way.
"Actually, this all got started with (senior heavyweight) Dustin (Kult of Lafayette, Ind.) giving the team a great speech beforehand," he added. "It really picked us up, and a lot of the guys were wrestling for him tonight."
The Spartans return to the mat Friday and Saturday, Jan. 29 and 30, for the Wheaton College of Illinois Pete Willson Invitational. "It's the time of the year where we are refining little things and getting ready to peak," Lake said. "We've been training really hard the last two weeks, and now it's time to taper and get ready for this stretch that takes us to regionals."
TRINE VS. MANCHESTER WRESTLING DUAL
Friday, Jan. 22
Stauffer-Wolfe Arena
North Manchester, Ind.
Dual began at 141 pounds
141 Chase Wilson (M) dec. Jeff Helm 12-8
149 Josh Juarez (M) maj. dec. Austin Helm 9-1
157 Alex Arney (M) won by fall over Sean Jones, Jr., 1:24
165 Brandon Gay (T) dec. Tristan Wilson 16-14
174 Dylan Lauffer (M) won by fall over Jaycee Jensen 2:25
184 Alex Roberts (M) dec. Kerry Raab 6-0
197 Brian Clark (M) won by forfeit
HWT Joe Stasiak (T) maj. dec. Nick Joyner 17-4
125 Alan Mock (M) dec. David Moore 3-2
133 Caleb Maddox (T) maj. dec. Kalib Jackson 13-2
