Despite valiant effort, the men's wrestling team Saturday fell 0-3 at the Northeast Duals against No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 9 Central Michigan and No. 25 Bloomsburg.
AU was matched against the Oklahoma State Cowboys for the first round of duals. Freshman Matt Mariacher was matched with Coleman Scott, the nation's No. 1 wrestler at 133 pounds. Scott had an early lead on Mariacher, taking him down 1:07 into the first period.
Down 2-0, Mariacher attempted a comeback when he began the second period on top. It wasn't enough to seal the win, however. Scott came back strong and finished with a 6-0 win.
Eagle Kyle Borshoff, who wrestled the No. 2 national wrestler, and Eagle Mike Cannon, who is ranked eighth, also competed in the first round. Although Cannon was taken down by Bloomsburg's Jake Dieffenbach, he earned the Eagles two wins, including a 6-2 win over a Central Michigan wrestler.
Cannon, a 165-pound wrestler, scored a takedown 18 seconds into the match against No. 18 Trevor Stewart from Central Michigan. Seconds later, Cannon was challenged when Stewart scored a reversal.
With a swift escape and an ensuing takedown, Cannon once again gained the lead, 5-2.
Escaping the final hold of Stewart, the Eagles gained a final match score of 6-2. Cannon finished his competition with a 13-6 decision in his second match against opponent Rob Hoffman.
After a harsh loss to Central Michigan, AU was paired up for their final match-ups against No. 25 Bloomsburg. Despite enjoying a 6-4 lead, the Eagles were unable to take down their opponents.
Many Eagles saw individual successes at the meet. Mariacher earned AU's first points in the match-up with Bloomsburg. He took a 3-1 decision over Jason Guffey, finished the first period in a 0-0 tie and gained the offensive winning lead.
Mariacher's win was followed by Borshoff's 9-6 victory over his opponent. He maintained control throughout much of the match and earned an extra point for riding time.
Unfortunately, these leads were not enough to help AU gain the win. The Eagles lost the lead as their next two matches went to Bloomsburg by bonus points.
