UC wrestlers have a tough day

The University of the Cumberlands men’s wrestling team traveled to Indiana State University ready for battle on Saturday in the Hoosier Duals. After weigh-in the battle began but the results were not what the Patriots had expected. Starting the day with a dual against South Dakota State and ending the day against Indiana State University, the Patriots left with a 0-5 dual record for the day, the results were as follows: University of the Cumberlands (UC) vs. South Dakota State (SDS), 18-21, Liberty vs. UC, 30-6, UC vs. Ohio, 18-26, UC vs. Rutgers, 3-40, and UC vs. Indiana State University (IU), 6-36.

Stating at the 125Ibs class, sophomore PJ Martinez (Chino, CA) kicked it off for the Patriots but fell short twice throughout the day with a loss to South Dakota State’s Alan Marvin, 4-3 and West Erike of Indiana State with a pin (5:41). Freshman Larone Madison (West Palm Beach) stepped it up for the Patriots at the 125Ibs weight class winning his match against Tim Sliver of Ohio in a 6-1 victory but fell short to Joe Pantaleo of Liberty with a 6-2 decision and Mike Demarco of Rutgers with a 15-0 tech fall. At the 133Ibs weight class freshmen Travis Sullivan (Monticello, KY) wrestled hard after receiving a forfeit from SDS but came up short in all four matches against Christian Smith of Liberty by pin (4:30), Darren Boing of Ohio by pin (4:22), Brian Bollette of Rutgers by pin (:47) and Matt Ortega of IU by pin (1:32).

Red-shirt junior Tim Mitchem (Augusta, GA) battled to the whistle each match and came out with a 1-4 dual record for the day. Mitchem lost his first match against Dustin Walraven of SDS to a 2-1 decision. Against Liberty, Michum claimed the victory with a 6-2 decision over Joseph Montgomery but fell short to Seth Marton of Ohio with a 3-1 decision, David Greenwald of Rutgers by pin (5:54), and Andrea Hernandez of IU with a 11-6 decision. Sophomore Jeff Steele (Plainwell, MI) came out with a 3-2 dual record losing to Tim Harner with a 4-0 decision and David Seidenburg of Rutgers with a 9-2 decision. At the 157Ibs weight class freshmen Justin Swilling (Ormona, FL) ended the day with a 1-4 record defeating Nick Flynn of SDS with a 3-2 decision and falling in the other four matches.

Freshmen Garrett Harrison (Malabar, FL) and Dyvon Passmore (Miami, FL) shared the 165Ibs weight class with Harrison going 2-2 with Passmore losing his match against Rutgers. At the 174Ibs weight class, freshman Kyle Stygler ended the day without a win losing all five matches. Red-shirt sophomore Damien Stephenson battled hard throughout the day with a 3-2 dual record at the 184Ibs weight class. Senior Robert Nusekabel (Cincinnati, OH) continued to impress the coaches at the 197Ibs class ending the day with a 3-2 dual record losing to Zach Blindert of SDS and Christopher Orzechowski of Rutgers. Freshman Jaron Singley (Corbin, KY) battled hard as well but fell short in all five matches at the 285Ibs weight class.

University of the Cumberlands Head Coach Andy Medders hopes that his team learned something from the meet. “The guys are working hard and this weekend was a tough weekend with five NCAA Division I teams,” said Medders. “I would say that it is a tough dual tournament but that is why I put them on our schedule, because you can’t be scared of competition. We took the team to fight and they each got something positive out of the weekend and I am looking forward to this next weekend because the improvements will be shown from last weekend’s tough competition.”

The Patriots will compete at the 49th Little State Wrestling Tournament in Indianapolis, IN on December 5, 2008.