Falcons defeat Raiders

MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- Concordia Wisconsin earned a close 24-22 CCIW victory over MSOE on Wednesday night inside the Kern Center.

The starting weight for the dual was 149 pounds and played to the Falcons advantage by the end of the match. The night began with freshman Quinn Hoopman (Cedar Grove, Wis.) earning a 15-0 technical fall win at 149 pounds. MSOE won by fall at 157 pounds prior to sophomore Cameron Caldwell (Adams-Friendship, Wis.) picking up a 13-5 major decision win at 165 pounds to put Concordia Wisconsin back in front 9-6 on the scoreboard.

The Raiders won at 174 pounds by major decision (14-0) and at 184 pounds by fall (1:02) to retake the lead and go in front 16-9. Junior Merrick O'Donnell (Huntington Beach, Calif.) earned a 5-1 decision at 197 pounds before MSOE won by fall at 285 pounds.

The final three bouts of the dual would get interesting, as the Falcons decided to not put sophomore Marco Padilla (Elmwood Park, Ill.) at 125 pounds, which forced a double forfeit. They then sent freshman Gabe Rodriguez (Las Vegas, Nev.) out for a 133-pound forfeit win to put the scoreboard at 22-18 in favor of MSOE. The Raiders were then going to put a wrestler at 141 pounds until head coach Kevin Koch sent out Padilla, which then made the hosts rethink their decision, thus giving the six points for a forfeit to Concordia Wisconsin and the end result of a dual victory.

Concordia Wisconsin returns to the mat on February 13 for the CCIW Tournament.