Ashland, Oh. - Mercyhurst wrestling went on the road for a midweek matchup with the Eagles Wednesday night with Ashland able to come out on top. After falling behind early, the Lakers made a run with four-straight wins to claim 16-7 lead before the Eagles were able to come back to secure the 20-19 decision.

How it Happened

The Lakers came out of the gates slow with losses at 125 and 133 with the second of those bouts ending in a major decision for Ashland, 14-6, to make it a 7-0 score. Mercyhurst did not allow the deficit to deter them as the battled back and captured their first win at 141 by way of Jake Niffenegger. The native of Cincinnati, Oh. Came out aggressive and let it be known that he and his team would not go down quietly with him earning the tech fall victory by a final o f 19-4.

Niffenegger's efforts helped spark a run for Mercyhurst that saw them take a nine-point lead in the end. After the sophomore got the win at 141, Bret Minnick followed with a victory of his own. Minnick found himself in the middle of a tough fight with Ashland's Jeremiah McKee as neither were willing to block. It was Minnick in the end, though, who had the upper hands with the 12-8 decision. Max Stedoford was up next and he kept the ball rolling with the second tech fall victory of the match for the Lakers, winning 15-0 before a 2-0 decision by Dillon Walker at 165 helped make it a 16-7 score in favor of Mercyhurst.

Ashland found their rhythm once again with back-to-back wins at 174 and 184. It was a major decision for Nate Barret, 14-6, followed by a 21-6 tech fall win for Daniel Beemer that helped tie things up 16-16 with just two bouts left to go. Merychurst managed to climb back in front with Trever Begin getting the big win at 197 with a 4-1 decision. The Eagles answered right back, though, with a victory via a decision of their own to tie things up 19-19 with the tie breaker being criteria which went in the way of Ashland, 77-76.

Highlights

Jake Niffenegger moves to 8-2 on the season with his tech fall win, 19-4, over Gavin Weaver at 141. He was joined by Max Stedeford who had a tech fall victory of his own to help him move to 6-3 on the year. Dillon Walker remains undefeated after his bout with Savriano Garza with his 2-0 decision, now sitting at 10-0 in the 2023-24 season.

 Next Event

Mercyhurst heads west as they now compete in the Midwest Classic. The team makes the trip to Indianapolis, In. with competition beginning on Saturday, December 16th, before wrapping things up the following day.