Life University Athletics

MARIETTA, Ga. --- The Life University men's wrestling team faced Appalachian Athletic Conference rival and third-ranked Southeastern tonight, dominating on their way to a 32-10 victory for their home regular season finale tonight in the Upper Gym.

The Running Eagles (8-2, 5-0 AAC) stay undefeated in conference play after the victory, taking another step towards a conference regular season title.

Life U got the night started quickly, Adrian Morales opening things with a dominant 18-3 tech fall victory. A decision in the favor of the Fire followed by Tyree Johnson besting the sixth-ranked 141 lbs in a 7-3 decision saw the score at 8-3 in Life U's favor after three bouts.

At 149 lbs., Reese Jones recorded a takedown in the final seconds to secure a late, 4-3 decision victory to keep momentum on the Running Eagles' side. After a major decision that went Southeastern's way, Jack Bass recorded an electrifying finish to his bout, taking down and pinning his opponent in the final seconds to extend the lead to 17-7.

The team's last loss of the night came at 174 lbs., the Running Eagles bouncing back to dominate the rest of the way. Asher Eichert saw to it that the bout was put out of contention at 184 lbs, posting a pin in 2:30. The penultimate bout of the night saw Zane Lanham put in a solid effort, easing his way into a 10-3 decision victory. The night ended on an exclamation point, Austin Harris dominating the fifth-ranked heavy weight, putting him in the cradle and rocking him back for a quick 58 second pin to give the final of 32-10.

Head coach Omi Acosta shared his thoughts after the dual came to and end, "Like always, first I would like to thank God for the opportunity to compete. It was a great dual, but we had a couple injuries, so we will heal and continue to get better. Secondly, what a great atmosphere tonight. The guys showed up and fought well, so we protected the Eagles' Nest. There's nothing quite like putting the 'Fire' out at home. I'm a Florida boy, so I have to keep on representing and not losing to another Florida team. It's a great time to be at Life. Thank you to all the fans and everybody that made it out. We have a couple duals down in Miami coming up and then we turn to the AAC conference tournament."

The Running Eagles next compete in the Cumberland Open in Lebanon, Tenn., tomorrow.