The No. 10 AU wrestling team split its two matches at the National Duals Regional Feb. 12 at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.
Seeded sixth at the six-team regional, the Eagles fell to the third-seeded University of Oklahoma Sooners, led by former AU Head Coach Mark Cody. AU then rebounded by picking up a 25-16 victory over Central Michigan University for the program’s first-ever triumph over the Chippewas.
No. 1 heavyweight Ryan Flores led the Eagles in both meets with two pins to increase his pin total to nine and remain undefeated at 12-0. Flores defeated Oklahoma’s Kyle Colling at the 4:53 mark and Central Michigan’s Peter Sturgeon (ranked No. 17) at 2:09.
No. 3 Ganbayar Sanjaa also defeated his two opponents, recording a fall against No. 15 Matt Lester in the Oklahoma match and narrowly defeating CMU’s Donnie Corby, 3-2. Sanjaa is another wrestler that will be in championship contention come March, as the redshirt senior boasts a 17-2 record that includes three pins, three major decisions and one technical fall.
The Eagles, who evened their dual record at 7-7 following the regional, struggled against the Sooners. Oklahoma defeated AU in eight of 10 bouts to hand the Eagles a 35-12 loss.
AU trailed 17-0 after four bouts and 35-6 after nine, as Flores and Sanjaa were the only two AU grapplers to record wins against the Sooners.
But the Eagles bounced back nicely against the Chippewas, winning six of 10 bouts to defeat CMU for the first time in program history.
After leading 6-5 following the first three bouts, AU received victories from No. 14 Matt Mariacher, Kevin Tao and Sanjaa to pull in front 16-5.
But Central Michigan answered with three straight victories of its own, putting the score at 16-16 heading into the final two matches.
No. 19 Daniel Mitchell picked up a key 7-2 decision at 197 pounds over CMU’s Craig Kelliher, then Flores secured the team victory with a pin over Sturgeon.
The Eagles will return to Bender Arena Feb. 19 for the Bender Takedown, when they square off against No. 18 Virginia Tech in their final dual meet of the season.
AU’s senior student-athletes will be honored prior to the match.
The matchup against Virginia Tech will be AU’s final competition in February, with the EIWA Championships and the NCAA Championships set for March.
sports@theeagleonline.com
