Life University Athletics

WALESKA, Ga. ---- The No. 2 nationally ranked Life University men's wrestling team split a pair of top ten duals tonight, as the team defeated No. 7 University of the Cumberlands 33-9, before falling to hosts No. 8 Reinhardt 23-12.

Brandon Orum got things rolling for the Running Eagles at 125 lbs. as the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the country earned the 5-1 decision over No. 4 Franco for an early 3-0 lead. Quin McGlamery kept the momentum rolling with a pin in 2:46 at 133 for an early 9-0 lead. Cumberlands answered with three straight decisions at 141, 149 and 157 as No. 2 nationally ranked Sid Ohl earned the pin in 34 seconds for a 15-9 lead. Mason McDaniel pinned No. 12 Swank in 43 seconds at 174 with a forfeit at 184 to give Life U a comfortable 27-9 lead. No. 3 Zane Lanham earned the 8-5 decision over No. 11 Jacobs as JJ Perez provided fireworks at heavyweight with a 3-2 TB1 decision over No. 2 nationally ranked Johnson. Life U finished the dual ahead 33-9 and would face No. 8 Reinhardt immediately after.

Orum started the dual against the Eagles facing No. 6 Milner, where he earned a 6-4 decision in SV-1 for an early 3-0 lead. Reinhardt answered with a pin at 133 and a major decision at 141 to take the 10-3 lead. Julian Hernandez earned the takedown in the final seconds at 149 for the 6-5 decision to bring the match to within four, however Reinhardt again answered with a decision at 157. Ashton Habeil earned the 11-8 decision at 165 over No. 10 Jenkins to make the score 13-9. Reinhardt answered again with a major decision at 174 and a decision at 184 to go ahead 20-9. Lanham picked up the 8-3 decision over No. 17 Henderson for Life U's final points of the dual. Reinhardt won at heavyweight for the final score of 23-12.

Head coach Omi Acosta shared his thoughts after the duals stating, "Tonight was a very humbling experience, but we definitely needed it. Some guys on the team think that because we won the national title last year that we deserve to just walk in somewhere and win. Losing humbles you and brings you back down to earth to get back to where we need to be. We will take this break to get better and focus on national duals and the rest of the season moving forward. God bless everyone and we hope you all have a happy holiday season."

The men's wrestling team will take a break before returning to the mats on January 6 and 7 in Louisville, Ky. at the NWCA National Duals.