The Ashland Wrestling team sealed their fate as third place in the GLIAC after a tough road loss to Tiffin, 20-19. AU had a 19-10 advantage leading up to the end, but could not pull away with the victory of their final dual this season.

“We knew the Tiffin dual would be another tough one, and that it would be close either way,” said AU Head Coach Josh Hutchens. “They are a conference opponent and, while not our main rival, there is definitely a competitive rivalry.”

The Eagles were hoping to come out winning six of 10 matches, but only secured five. The one point difference was a bonus point for Tiffin. 

”We lost the closest match at 16; that would have sealed the dual for us. We also gave up major decisions at 125 & 197,” said Hutchens.

Junior Michael Labry (133) wasn’t able to show off his skills this match, as he received the victory by forfeit.  

Another win was secured by sophomore Brent Fickel (149). He received an 11-2 major decision victory and improved to 11-5 on the season.

Junior Zeb Beam (157), sophomore Luke Cramer (174), and junior Kurt Schaefer (184) also contributed to AU’s 20 team points.

Just three days after their loss, AU headed back to Kate’s Gymnasium to take part in the Ashland University Open. 

This open included athletes from Kent State University, Ohio University, Baldwin Wallace, Findlay, Mercyhurt, Lake Erie College, Wheeling Jesuit and Edinboro University.

“Open tournaments are tournaments in which any post high school wrestler can compete,” said Hutchens. “This is the first year for the Ashland Open.”

The reason for these tournaments is to make sure the athletes who do not get as much time on the mat are able to compete. 

“The main purpose was to get experience for the members of the team who are redshirting or not getting regular matches in the duals,” said Hutchens. ”We host one open tournament every fall called the Simonson Open. We did not have an open tournament in the second semester last season, but decided to try one this time.”

Three Eagles took first place titles in their weight class at the Open. One of them, 133-pounder Michael Labry, went 3-0 on the day and now has 35 wins on the season. His record stands at 35-1 with nine pin-falls.

Freshman Trae Coopwood (125) also showed confidence at the Open. After only competing in two matches, he finished second and 3-1 on the day.

“He doubled that [matches competed] in one day and gained a lot of experience,” said Hutchens.

Junior Bobby Mason (141) took first as well, after going undefeated with one pinfall at the Open.

A popular weight class for the Eagles was the 149 weight cass. Sophomores Brent Fickel and JJ Diven were set to compete in a wrestle off. Fickel emerged victorious, and went on to be 3-0 on the day with a pinfall and a technical fall. 

Another wrestler moved up to join the 149 class, junior Nolan Dilts. He placed third with one pinfall. 

Sophomore Sean Houghton placed fifth at 157. A second wrestle-off was had between Brenden Stanley and Michael Hummer at 165. Stanley won 5-4, but chose not to continue at the Open.

The final competition of the evening was Zach Brown at 197. Brown placed fifth while wrestled three matches.

As said before, this wraps up the regular season for the Eagles. The team will go to the NCAA Super Regional II tournament at the end of February. 

“It was a good tournament for us,” said Hutchens. “We definitely accomplished the goal of getting mat time and experience against outside competition.  Now we are focused on getting healthy and peaking for the regional tournament.”