Glenville, WV - #14 Mercyhurst Wrestling hit the road in their 2022-23 season opener as they competed in the Glenville State Duals Thursday afternoon. The team competed in three matches on the day, with wins in two.

How it Happened

Mercyhurst began their day with a tough matchup with the third-ranked University of Indianapolis Greyhounds. They proved to be too much for the Lakers as Indianapolis took the match by a final count of 19-16. Eric Bartos at 133, Max Stedeford at 157, Dillon Walker at 174, Trever Begin at 184, and Hunter Harnish at 285 each got wins in the match with all five wins coming via decisions. Back-to-back wins by Walker and Begin had Mercyhurst in a good position to make a comeback and win as they were behind 16-12, but a loss at 197 ended the Laker's chances of pulling out the win.

The Lakers followed up their contest with Indianapolis with one against Findlay (Oh.) with it being a convincing win for Mercyhurst as they won 28-17. Coach Wehler's crew tallied two fall and two tech fall wins in the performance as they dominated the Oilers. Mike Zacur got the first fall at 159 while Harnish had the second to round out the match. The two tech falls came courtesy of Dillon Walker and Luke McGonigal.

The third and final match of the day proved to be a tight one as the Lakers were able to claim the win by just one point over the host Glenville. Mercyhurst collected two more wins via falls with Alexander Samson at 141 and Stedeford recording the pair, scoring nearly half of the Laker's points for the round in their wins. Luke McGonigal picked up his second win of the day at 197 over Glenville's Luke Martin and it proved to be a big one as the four points he earned clinched the win. 

By the Numbers

Dillon Walker comes off a season in which he was named an All-American and starts the new campaign with aspirations of more of the same. Walker collected three wins on the day to be the only Laker to win in all three matches. Eric Bartos, Mike Zacur, Max Stedeford, Luke McGonigal, and Hunter Harnish each came close to matching Walker as they each cleaned two wins during the day.

What's Next

The Lakers have a quick turnaround before their next match as they are set to compete in the Ohio Intercollegiate Open in Cleveland, Oh. on Sunday, November 13th.