Falcons Victorious in Final Bout
MEQUON, Wis. - The CUW wrestling team took on the Elmhurst Bluejays inside the R. John Buuck Fieldhouse on Thursday night in a CCIW dual.
The Falcons had not beaten the Bluejays since 2015. That all changed on Thursday night when the Blue and White secured the 22-16 victory that all came down to the heavyweight matchup.
Elmhurst threw the first punch with an overtime victory in the 125-pound weight class. sophomore Devin Gore (Plymouth, Wis.) was defeated after a takedown in sudden victory.
The Bluejays added to their lead with a tech fall defeat of junior Emilio Acosta (El Paso, Texas) that saw 11 total near-fall points.
Senior Gabe Rodriguez (Las Vegas, Nev.) recorded the first Falcon points with a 2:35 fall victory in the 141-pound weight class.
In the 149-pound weight class, senior Val Kochiu (Oak Creek, Wis.) added three more points for the Blue and White to make it 9-8 in favor of the Falcons.
Senior Jack O'Donnell (Huntington Beach, Calif.) recorded a major decision victory at 11-3 to push the lead out to 13-8.
The Bluejays recorded six team points with a 1:04 fall defeat of sophomore Bryce Claypool (Morris, Ill.) to take a 14-13 lead.
Senior Carson Cook (Las Vegas, Nev.) was defeated by a 5-10 decision to give the Bluejays the 17-13 lead.
Junior Jonathan Pullen (Joliet, Ill.) fought hard in his matchup and claimed a 10-6 decision to tack on three more Falcon points. His opponent also received a one-point team deduction for unsportsmanlike conduct after the match to end up knotted at 16
In the 197-pound weight class, freshman Ruben Vasquez (Westminster, Calif.) secured a crucial three team points with an 8-6 decision to give the Blue and White the advantage heading into the last weight class.
DALTON SELL headed into his matchup with one goal: secure a result. Any result for the Falcons claimed a victory over the Bluejays for the first time since 2015. No points were scored by either wrestler in the first period. Sell picked bottom with the second-period choice and claimed a quick escape to take the one-point lead. The Bluejays took the same course of action and took bottom heading into the final frame. Elmhurst didn't just escape but reversed Sell to take the 2-1 lead. With the matchup on the line, Sell reversed his opponent and tacked on four near-fall points for good measure. The matchup headed with Sell on top by a score of 7-2.
The Falcons secured the 22-16 victory after a tight dual inside the R. John Buuck Fieldhouse.
The Blue and White look to carry this momentum into the Citrus Invite hosted by John Carroll in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on December 28 and 29.
