WPU Rallies Big to Drop Fighting Bees 24-23
Davenport–The Statesmen men’s wrestling team dug out of a huge hole to knock off St. Ambrose 24-23 in a Heart of America Athletic Conference dual meet Tuesday.
William Penn (2-1, 2-1 Heart) won five of the last six matches, including three by fall, to overcome a 20-0 deficit.
While it was a grand ending for the navy and gold, the beginning was less than ideal with the visitors losing the first four bouts, headlined by forfeiting at 133 pounds, to trail 20-0.
Steven Skewes (Fr., Duchesne, Utah, Exercise Science) finally got the rally going at 157 pounds, pinning Anthony Orduna in a time of 1:03.
Matheson Meade (Fr., Knoxville, Tenn., Exercise Science) then got past Chris Bridges 11-4 at 165 pounds, while 174-pounder Makail Stanley (Fr., Oreana, Ill., Biology) matched Skewes by claiming a first-period fall over Jack Merlo in 2:30. At that point, the Statesmen had shrunk the SAU edge to five at 20-15.
The hosts (2-3, 0-2 Heart) recaptured some of the momentum with a win at 184 pounds and nearly clinched the dual at 197 pounds. Trailing 4-3 late in his 197-pound matchup, Jesse Schwery (Fr., Panama, Iowa) recorded a takedown in the final five seconds to win 5-4 over Tyreese Johnson and keep WPU’s hopes alive.
Heavyweight Branson Bottorff (So., Mackinaw, Ill., Mechanical Engineering) then capped the improbable come-from-behind victory with a pin over Rob Stohl in 5:15.
“Tonight was a gritty, gutsy performance from our guys,” Head Coach Aron Scott said. “We did not come in at full strength in our first competition since a two-week break, so I was proud of how we continued to fight even being so far behind. We never gave up and got those bonus points to take the team victory.”
Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa Friday for its home opener, hosting Baker in Heart dual-meet action at 7 p.m.
125–Mick Chagnon (S) won by decision over Nadhelo Charles-Pierre, 14-8 (0-3)
133–Matt Robertson (S) won by forfeit (0-9)
141–Riley Woods (S) won by technical fall over Troy Mita, 23-8 (0-14)
149–Diego Machado (S) won by fall over Hector Diaz, 3:58 (0-20)
157–Steven Skewes (W) won by fall over Anthony Orduna, 1:03 (6-20)
165–Matheson Meade (W) won by decision over Chris Bridges, 11-4 (9-20)
174–Makail Stanley (W) won by fall over Jack Merlo, 2:30 (15-20)
184–Dylan Meiners (S) won by decision over Mason Walters, 9-2 (15-23)
197–Jesse Schwery (W) won by decision over Tyreese Johnson, 5-4 (18-23)
285–Branson Bottorff (W) won by fall over Rob Stohl, 5:15 (24-23)
