Wed, Feb. 1, 2012 - [Men's Wrestling]
The University of the Cumberlands (UC) Men's Wrestling team traveled to Columbia, KY on Tuesday, January 31stto compete in a Mid-South Conference (MSC) dual against the Blue Raiders of Lindsey Wilson College (LWC). The results didn't come up in the Patriots favor as they lost their first MSC dual this season in a final score of 15-22, giving the team a 3-1 overall record in the Mid-South Conference.
The Patriots were in a battle from the very beginning. Both teams were eager to compete and it was going to come down to which team was going to be able to take the lead and hold onto it throughout the competition. Senior captain Larone Madison (Riviera Beach, FL) started the team off on the right foot as he defeated LWC's Kary Goff by decision (7-3), putting the Patriots first on the board with a 3-0 lead in team scoring. Unfortunately, the Patriots gave up back to back losses at the 133 and 141 pound weight classes that put UC down 3-7.
Freshman Anthonie Linares (San Jose, CA) stepped up though in the 149 lb. weight class as he pinned Isaac Thomas late in the 3rdperiod to help give the Patriots their second lead of the night by a 9-7 margin. Lindsey Wilson would rally to take the next three matches in the 157, 165, and 174 lb. weight classes to take 9-16 lead.
Jeremy Gardner (Frankfort, KY) came up big with a decision win over Andrew Hairston 5-2 to bring the Patriots back within 4 points with the score at 12-16. A loss by pinfall in the 197 lb. weight class put the dual out of reach for UC, but a win in the 285 lb. heavy weight class by Vince Pezzuto (Las Vegas, NV) over Theodore Furnish ended the rally and the Patriots fell to the Blue Raiders 15-22.
The Patriots will be back in action on Saturday as they travel to take part in the Newberry Open. Matches are set to begin at 9:00 am. UC will then travel to Rome, GA to take on Shorter University and West Virginia Tech in a tri-match for their final Mid-South Conference dual of the year on Feb. 11th.
For more information on the Patriot Men's Wrestling program along with other Patriot athletics, please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com.
Article by PJ Martinez, UC Multimedia and Athletic Services Student Assistant
