CINCINNATI, Ohio - Your Mount St. Joseph wrestling team hosted their first of four duals this Sunday. The Lions faced off against NAIA #3 Lindsey Wilson, Ancilla, and Midway. They dropped the first dual to Lindsey Wilson 32-12. They regained momentum and posted a 36-9 win against Ancilla and a 26-21 win over Midway.
MSJ vs Lindsey Wilson
The Lions were down early but Senior Nate McClanahan (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) was able to fight for a 9-3 win to get the Lions back on track. After the Lions dropped back to back matches freshman Amar Thomas (Fairfield, Ohio/Fairfield) got a 10-3 win to push back at Lindsey Wilson. In his first match as a Lion sophomore Cornell Beachem Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods) got a big 11-7 win over the NAIA #6 wrestler Trajan Hurd to help narrow the lead. Then with both MSJ's and Lindsey Wilson's 184lb wrestlers, moving to the 197lb weight class for the match Antonio McCloud (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) defeated the NAIA #6 wrestler at 184lbs 9-8. Even with the big wins the Lions were not able to regain the lead and dropped the dual to NAIA #3 Lindsey Wilson
MSJ vs Ancilla
MSJ dropped their first match vs Ancilla but didn't look back after. Senior Nate McClanhan came away with another big win. This time it was a pin and nearly a school record as he pinned his opponent in 11 seconds. Sophomore Charles Lipps (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) also got in on the action and pinned his opponent as well. Next, it was Thomas again with a victory followed by a win from sophomore Donald Wilson (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder), that marked Wilson's first win of his career. As the dual ended, the Lions had complete control. The score ended 36-9 in favor of the Lions.
MSJ vs Midway
In the final dual of the day the Lions faced off against the Eagles of Midway University. The Lions struggled early on in the dual but got back on track with another pin by sophomore Charles Lipps, his second of the day. The freshman Thomas completed his sweep on the day going 3-0 and winning his final match 12-3. Beachem wrestled his second match and completed dominated his opponent finishing with a 22-4 victory. Sophomore Antonio McCloud also completed his sweep of the day by defeating his opponent via a pin. But it all came down to the last match. The score was tied 21-21 going into the final match in the 285 weight class, between Sophomore Cameron Sauerwein (Harrison, Ohio/Harrison) and Midway's Isaiah McDougal. Sauerwein got going early on in the match and didn't look back. Sauerwein defeated McDougal 18-3 including a huge slam which sealed the win for the Lions. The final score of the dual totaled 26-21 as the Lions finished with a 2-1 team record on the day
The Lions are back home this Thursday in the Harrington Center hosting their second of four meets their this year. This time they will be hosting both Alma and Penn College. The meet is set to begin on Thursday, December 19th at 4PM in the Harrington Center. Continue to check out MSJSports.com for more updates on the rest of the Lions 2019-20 season!
