Thomas More 27, Ohio Wesleyan 19
Sophomore Bryce Wittman (Nashville, Tenn./Montgomery Bell Academy), sophomore Caleb Blake (Tipp City/Tippecanoe), and sophomore Jaret Lowry (Litchfield/Buckeye Senior) won their matchups to fuel an Ohio Wesleyan comeback, but Thomas More withstood the Bishop rally and went on to record a dual-meet win on Wednesday at Branch Rickey Arena.
The meet was Ohio Wesleyan's first home wrestling event since Feb. 11, 1984, when the Bishops hosted a triangular meet with Wittenberg and Malone.
Freshman Jacob Dehart (Mount Vernon) was pinned by Thomas More's Shay Horton at 125 pounds, and sophomore Jimmy Brenneman (Sagamore Hills/Nordonia) lost an 8-3 decision to Hunter Barge at 133 pounds as the Saints took a 9-0 lead in the match.
Junior Ryan McElwee (Pickerington/Central) then battled Thomas More's Cam Baird nearly evenly at 141 pounds, but a point awarded for riding time helped Baird take a 5-4 decision. Cody Roland then recorded a 7-0 verdict over freshman Lane Williams (Dublin/Jerome) to increase the Thomas More lead to 15-0.
Wittman then faced Damien Calderon at 157 pounds, with Wittman building a 20-2 lead and winning on a technical fall to bring the Bishops within 15-5.
Blake and Lowry followed with major decisions, with Blake defeating Ryan Draughn, 13-4, at 165 pounds and Lowry handing Andrew Taylor a 13-2 setback at 174 pounds to make the score 15-13.
Freshman Abe Spurlock (Brookline, Mass.) took the mat at 174 pounds with a chance to give Ohio Wesleyan the lead, but Thomas More's Avery Jones recorded a pin to give the Saints 6 points, and the visitors sealed the outcome with 6 points on a forfeit at 197 pounds.
Sophomore Nathan Scott (Westerville/North) pinned Tyler Kassinger at 285 pounds to close out the meet.
In exhibition matchups, freshman Donovan Ortiz (Port St. Lucie, Fla./American Heritage) pinned Jordan Hoselton at 133 pounds, Thomas More's Dylan Mosher posted a 20-4 major decision over sophomore Ross Eggleston (Lancaster/Bloom Carroll) at 174 pounds, and Calderon pinned sophomore Max Beard (Palo Alto, Calif./Gunn) at 157 pounds.
Final Results
