Eagles Soar Above Heidelberg
It was Senior Night in Seiberling Gymnasium when the no. 6 Heidelberg College wrestling team faced off against the no. 11 (Div. II) Ashland University Eagles. The Student Princes honored eight of their own for the contributions they have made to the program over the past four years. Sadly, the men did not see a win in their last home match, as the Berg was defeated 19-12. It was the first loss at home for Heidelberg since they lost to Ohio Northern University in February of 2005. The Student Princes fall to 9-2 on the year, while Ashland rises to 7-6.
The much anticipated match up between the two nationally-ranked schools began with a major decision by Ashland’s Brandon Davis at 125 pounds against Heidelberg’s Jerrad Hoxie (Forest Hills, Mich. / Forest Hills), 17-8. It was followed by a close 8-6 victory at 133 by the Berg’s Tony Lawler (West Liberty, Ohio / West Liberty) against the Eagles’ Dan Mandara.
Senior 141-pounder for Heidelberg, no. 9 Nick Sanchez (Lima, Ohio / Bath), lost his last match under the spotlight to Kyle Kanaga 3-1, while Zach Mizer (Canton, Ohio / Perry) was also defeated at 149 by Ashland’s Marcus Gordon 5-0. The team score moved up to 10-3 in favor of the Eagles with six matches left in the night.
The 157-pound weight class brought one of the most exciting matches of the night at no. 2 ’Berg senior Joe Pflug (Maple Heights, Ohio / Maple Heights) took on no. 4 Ashland freshman Muhammad Abur-Rahman. Pflug won the match thanks to a penalty point late in the third period due to stalling calls against Abur-Rahman and a last second takedown before the whistle.
With the failure of a last second ankle pick in the third period, Aaron Jonhenry (Berea, Ohio / Berea) lost Heidelberg’s fourth match of the night 3-2, followed by another close loss at 174 where Matt Findley (Lorain, Ohio / Southview) was defeated in the last few moments 12-8.
With the team score at 16-6 in favor of Ashland, Heidelberg needed a win by Ed Bizorik (Bellevue, Ohio / Western Reserve) to keep within striking distance for the win. Unfortunately for the Student Princes, Bizorik fell in yet another close match, 3-2.
With two matches left and Ashland already guaranteed a win with a 19-6 team score, Heidelberg still refused to end the night without a fight. At 197, no. 5 Ryan Fogliano (Maple Heights, Ohio / Maple Heights) faced off against Jordan Job from Ashland. Fogliano won the match 7-4 and was soon replaced on the mat by 285-pounder Tony Carothers (Bloomingdale, Ohio / Harrison Central).
Having already beaten Ashland’s Ray Kent twice this season, Carothers’ match was not anything if not heated. Carothers took down Kent in the first, but Kent soon escaped. In the beginning of the second Kent started in the down position and earned yet another escape, putting the match score at 2-2. The third period saw Carothers start in the same position, down, and end up with the same result, an escape, giving him the narrow lead of 3-2. With the crowd on their feet shouting his name, Carothers dared not to disappoint and retained the lead until the final whistle.
Heidelberg wrestles next at the Pete Willson Invitational in Wheaton, Ill. on February 1 and 2. Wrestling begins at 1:30 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. on Saturday.
Final Score
| No. 6 Heidelberg | 12 |
| No. 11 Ashland | 19 |
Bout-By-Bout Results
| Weight | Opponents | Bout Score |
Team Score |
||||
| H | A | H | A | ||||
| 125 | Brandon Davis (AU) dec. Jerrad Hoxie (Heid) | 8 | 17 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 133 | Tony Lawler (Heid) dec. Daniel Mandara (AU) | 8 | 6 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 141 | Kyle Kanaga (AU) dec. No. 9 Nicholas Sanchez (Heid) | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 149 | Zach Mizer (Heid) Vs. Marcus Gordon (AU) | 0 | 5 | 3 | 10 | ||
| 157 | No. 2 Joe Pflug (Heid) dec. No. 4 Muhammad Abdur-Rahm (AU) | 4 | 1 | 6 | 10 | ||
| 165 | Anthony Bradberry (AU) dec. Aaron Jonhenry (Heid) | 2 | 3 | 6 | 13 | ||
| 174 | Justin Ferguson (AU) dec. Matt Findley (Heid) | 8 | 12 | 6 | 16 | ||
| 184 | Travis Popham (AU) dec. Ed Bizorik (Heid) | 2 | 3 | 6 | 19 | ||
| 197 | No. 8 Ryan Fogliano (Heid) dec. Jordan Job (AU) | 7 | 4 | 9 | 19 | ||
| 285 | Tony Carothers (Heid) dec. Ray Kent (AU) | 3 | 2 | 12 | 19 | ||