(ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Jan. 10) – The No. 5 McKendree University men's wrestling team competed in two Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) duals Saturday afternoon on the campus of No.4 Lindenwood University. The Bearcats defeated Maryville (21-12) and fell to No.4 Lindenwood in a tiebreaker (18-19).

McKendree's first competition of the afternoon was a close contest with GLVC rival Maryville. Christian Mejia (Elkhart, IN/Elkhart Memorial) started off the dual in favor for McKendree, and the following four weight classes would finish in close contest. It was in the 157-lb where McKendree would shine and take the following two matchups to provide enough cushion over their competition. The Bearcats won six of the 10 weight classes against Maryville, and tallied their first conference win of the 2021 season.

No.5 McKendree 21, Maryville 12

125 – Christian Mejia (Elkhart, IN/Elkhart Memorial) defeated Anthony Pisciotta in a 12-7 decision (McK 3, MU 0)
133 – Tyler Kreith defeated Tyler Delaware (Dunlap, IL/Washington Community) in a 6-2 decision (McK 3, MU 3)
141 – Devin Schwartzkopf (St. Louis, MO/Francis Howell Central and Greenways Academy) defeated Taylor Jokerst in a 6-4 decision (McK 6, MU 3)
149 – Tyler Stegall defeated Frankie Falotico (Jefferson City, MO/Blair Oaks) in a 6-1 decision (McK 6, MU 6)
157 – No.6 Nate Smalling (Belleville, IL/Belleville West) defeated Michael Peters in a 10-4 decision (McK 9, MU 6)
165 – Cory Peterson (Valmeyer, IL/De Smet Jesuit) defeated Caleb Knobel by major decision, 17-9 (McK 13, MU 6)
174 – No.2 Joshua Jones (Chicago Heights, IL/Marian Catholic) defeated Bret Heli by major decision, 13-5 (McK 17, MU 6)
184 – Bailey Kelly defeated Rozell Baker (Cahokia, IL/Cahokia) in a 9-3 decision (McK 17, MU 9)
197 – No.1 Ryan Vasbinder (Wyoming, MI/Grandville) defeated Chase Stegall by major decision, 12-1 (McK 21, MU 9)
285 – Logan Radik defeated Vincenzo Scaletta (Harwood Heights, IL/Ridgewood) by SV-1, 3-1 (McK 21, MU 12)

The second dual of the afternoon, No.5 McKendree was evenly matched against their conference rival and higher-ranked opponent, No.4 Lindenwood. Cam Fusco (Arnold, MO/Seckman) paved the wat for the Bearcats with a pin, just 17 seconds into the first matchup. Lindenwood would then take the following six weight classes, utilizing their three top-3 ranked men. The Bearcats would come back and take the final three weight classes, but it was not enough to win the dual tiebreaker point.

No.5 McKendree 18, No.4 Lindenwood 19

125 – Cam Fusco (Arnold, MO/Seckman) won by fall at 0:17 over Austin Kegley (McK 6, LW 0)
133 – No.6 Tanner Hitchcock defeated Brody Norman (Washington, IL/Washington Community) in a 3-2 decision (McK 6, LW 3)
141 – No.1Colby Smith defeated Devin Schwartzkopf (St. Louis, MO/Francis Howell Central and Greenways Academy) in a 4-0 decision (McK 6, LW 6)
149 – No.1 Gavin Londoff defeated Nathan Callaway (Oswego, IL/Marmion Academy) in a 6-0 decision (McK 6, LW 9)
157 – Ronald Gentile defeated No.6 Nate Smalling (Belleville, IL/Belleville West) by SV-1, 4-2 (McK 6, LW 12)
165 – Nate Trepanier defeated Cory Peterson (Valmeyer, IL/De Smet Jesuit) by SV-1, 8-6 (McK 6, LW 15)
174 – No.2 Abner Romero defeated No.2 Joshua Jones (Chicago Heights, IL/Marian Catholic) in a 7-2 decision (McK 6, LW 18)
184 – No.5 Daniel Filipek (Warrenton, MO/Warrenton) defeated No.11 Colton Clingenpeel in an 8-3 decision (McK 9, LW 18)
197 – No.1 Ryan Vasbinder (Wyoming, MI/Grandville) won by fall at 1:37 over Keaton Fogler (McK 15, LW 18)
285 – Ian Kuehl (Lena, IL/Lena-Winslow) defeated Tage McNutt in a 4-2 decision (McK 18, LW 18)

McKendree's next scheduled event is the 2021 season home-opener, on Friday, Jan. 15. The Bearcats will face University of Central Missouri in the Harry M. Statham Sports Center at 7:00 PM.