Statesmen Just Miss Upset of #12 Missouri Valley
Marshall, Mo.–The William Penn men’s wrestling team dominated the middle weights, but a forfeit was the difference maker in a 24-22 Heart of America Athletic Conference dual meet loss to #12 Missouri Valley Tuesday.
WPU (1-1, 0-1 Heart) won five of the nine contested matchups and led 22-10 with three weight classes left. Unfortunately, the navy and gold were unable to put a 197-pounder on the mat and the six-point setback at that weight served as the squad’s undoing.
Nadhelo Charles-Pierre (Sr., Miramar, Fla., Sports Management) trailed 3-0 to Zachary Ouillette with just over 30 seconds remaining in his 125-pound match, but he recorded a takedown with back points for a six-point move. He was unable to get the fall, but walked off with a big tone-setting 6-4 victory.
The Vikings answered with a fall at 133 pounds and a major decision at 141 pounds for a 10-3 advantage.
The Statesmen expect to be strongest at their middle weights and that is where the tide turned for the visitors, beginning with a fall by Cameron Hargrove (Fr., Bolingbrook, Ill., Undecided) at 149 pounds. The freshman permitted a takedown to Blake Howard in the first few seconds, but then cruised with 14 of the next 15 points before finally pinning him at the 4:08 mark.
Steven Skewes (Fr., Duchesne, Utah, Exercise Science) then pulled WPU ahead at 157 pounds by catching Brody von Brethorst in a throw and winning by fall in 2:37.
Despite being ahead 15-10, a William Penn team victory was still a long shot as the next two matches featured ranked Viking grapplers, but the Statesmen were not intimidated.
165-pounder Matheson Meade (Fr., Knoxville, Tenn., Exercise Science) pulled off the first upset, crushing #12 William Siebert by a 15-3 major decision. The freshman was on the offensive from the opening whistle with a takedown just seven seconds in. He was quickly reversed and the match remained fairly tight as he led 5-3 after the first period and 7-3 after the second period. Meade then pulled away with an eight-point third stanza that included a reversal and four back points.
Makail Stanley (Fr., Oreana, Ill., Biology) kept momentum on WPU’s side at 174 pounds as he knocked off #7 Hayden Wempen, a returning All-American, by a score of 6-4. He produced a reversal in the second period and extended his 4-3 lead with a takedown in the waning seconds to claim victory.
Unfortunately, the 12-point advantage was not enough as the Vikings won by technical fall at 184 before earning the six points for forfeit at 197 pounds.
The Statesmen were still ahead 22-21 entering the heavyweight battle, but Branson Bottorff (So., Mackinaw, Ill., Mechanical Engineering) could not hold off #4 Josh Isaac, falling 13-6 to give the visiting team the come-from-behind win.
“I am really proud of our effort tonight,” Head Coach Aron Scott said. “We wrestled really tough and beat some ranked guys and gutted out some wins against one of the top teams in the country. We basically came within a forfeit of taking them down. I am just so excited with where we are right now.”
Next Up: William Penn is off for nearly two weeks, returning to action on Monday, November 30 for a trip to Davenport to face St. Ambrose in a non-conference dual at 6 p.m.
125–Nadhelo Charles-Pierre (W) won by decision over Zachary Ouillette, 6-4 (3-0)
133–Dessmund Prospero (M) won by fall over Michael Flores, 1:26 (3-6)
141–Donovan Parn (M) won by major decision over Troy Mita, 21-8 (3-10)
149–Cameron Hargrove (W) won by fall over Blake Howard, 4:08 (9-10)
157–Steven Skewes (W) won by fall over Brody von Brethorst, 2:37 (15-10)
165–Matheson Meade (W) won by major decision over William Seibert, 15-3 (19-10)
174–Makail Stanley (W) won by decision over Hayden Wempen, 6-4 (22-10)
184–Ottis Peeler (M) won by technical fall over Mason Walters, 16-0 (22-15)
197–Karim Shakur (M) won by forfeit (22-21)
285–Joshua Isaac (M) won by decision over Branson Bottorff, 13-6 (22-24)
