Life University Athletics

COLUMBIA, Ky. ---- The No. 2 nationally ranked Life University men's wrestling team went a flawless 5-0 at the NAIA Challenge Duals on Saturday, including a 29-9 win over No. 3 Indiana Tech and a 32-12 win over No. 13 Marian.

The Running Eagles lost just seven individual matches in the 50 they wrestled during the day with 34 bonus point efforts. They outscored their opponents 215-24 including a pair of shutout wins where the team did not lose a match.

To start the day, the Running Eagles matched up with No. 13 Marian. Chase Ayers started the dual off at 125 with a 12-3 decision as Sean Deshazer earned a 16-1 technical fall at 133 lbs. for an early 9-0 lead. Jordan Mitchell fought his way to a 9-7 decision at 141 lbs. as Julian Hernandez picked up the 15-0 technical fall for a 17-0 lead. The No. 16 nationally ranked wrestler for Marian was able to take a 9-6 decision over Steven Villalobos at 157, but Sid Ohl earned the win via pin fall at 165 lbs. Asher Eichert bounced back with a 7-1 decision at 174 lbs. and Bryan Canedo lost late in a 7-4 decision to. the No. 5 ranked wrestler. Marian's only back-to-back wins came at 197 lbs. as their No. 8 nationally ranked wrestler earned the win via pin. Spencer Dacus responded at heavyweight with a pin of his own for the 32-12 final. 

The second dual of the day saw Life U sweep Bluefield 57-0. The Running Eagles won the first four matches via forfeit as Jack Bass earned the pin in 39 seconds at 157. Ohl earned his second bonus point win of the day with a 16-1 technical fall at 165 lbs. as Mason McDaniel earned the pin in 22 seconds. Canedo bounced back with a 20-2 technical fall as Zane Lanham earned the pin in 1:36. JJ Perez earned the 17-2 technical fall at heavyweight for the final of 57-0.

In the biggest match of the day, the Running Eagles lost just three decisions to No. 3 Indiana Tech. Ayers got the dual started with an upset over the No. 9 ranked wrestler at 125 lbs. with a 2-1 decision. Sean Deshazer followed with an upset of his own at 133 lbs. with a 3-1 decision over the No. 3 ranked wrestler. Indiana Tech answered at 141 lbs. with a 6-4 decision in sudden victory for their first points of the dual. Denver Stonecheck came up big for Life U at 149 lbs. earning the pin in 1:26 to extend the lead to 12-3. The Warriors earned a 7-3 decision at 157 lbs. as Ohl responded with his second pin of the day in 6:15 for an 18-6 Running Eagle advantage. McDaniel earned the 9-2 decision at 174 lbs. before Indiana Tech answered with their No. 4 ranked wrestler at 184 on a 7-2 decision. Life U sealed the win at 197 lbs. with Lanham earning the 19-3 technical fall as Perez finished the dual with an 8-3 decision for the 29-9 scoreline.

The fourth match of the day saw the Running Eagles pick up their second sweep of the day with a 52-0 win over (RV) Williams Baptist. Brandon Orum earned the 15-0 technical fall at 125 lbs as a forfeit at 133 put Life U ahead 11-0. Back-to-back technical falls from Mitchell (15-0) and Stonecheck (16-0) extended the lead as Villalobos earned the pin in 1:52 at 157 lbs. Another forfeit at 165 added six more team points with McDaniel picking up the 7-2 decision. Michael Gibson earned the 11-3 major decision at 184 as Williams Baptist forfeited the final two eight classes for the 52-0 final. 

In the final dual of the day, Life U came away with the 45-3 victory over Midway University. Orum earned his second technical fall of the day with an 18-2 showing as Midway forfeited 133 lbs. Ruiz won a 3-1 decision at 141 before Hernandez earned the win via pin fall in 3:37 at 149 lbs. Villalobos earned the pin in 2:58 at 157 as Ohl added his second technical fall with a 16-1 display at 165 lbs. Eichert earned the pin in 4:23 at 174 lbs. as Canedo came away with an 8-1 decision at 184. Tony Rogers earned a 17-0 technical fall at 197 lbs. as Midway won its lone match of the dual at heavyweight that went to top-bottom two in a 4-1 decision for the final of 45-3.

Head coach Omi Acosta shared his thoughts on the day stating, "First and foremost, I want to thank God for keeping us safe during the storms in Kentucky. We would like to send our sincerest prayers to all of those affected by the tornadoes. On the mat, I thought the guys wrestled well today. We still have a lot of work to do, and we need to get better at certain positions. We have to get tougher overall if we want to reach our end of the season goals. I'm happy with our performance as a group today and we will continue getting better."

The men's wrestling team will return to action on Thursday, December 16, when they travel to Waleska, Ga. to face No. 5 Reinhardt University and No. 8 University of the Cumberlands at 2 and 4 PM.