CHESTERFIELD, Mo. - McKendree University men's wrestling collected its first victories in the Great Lakes Valley Conference this season, going 3-0 over the weekend by taking down Ouachita Baptist (33-10), Lindenwood (26-9) and host Maryville (25-15) via double-digits in all three dual matches. The fifth-ranked Bearcats moved to 8-1 in duals on the year, including seven-straight victories since a first-round loss at Mat Mayhem in Louisville on January 6. 

McKendree opened up its GLVC slate with three victories, which marked seven-straight wins for the top-five program, dating back early January at the NWCA National Duals event at Kentucky International Convention Center. Sunday's trio of duals was the first league action for McKendree after the Bearcats' were unable to wrestle scheduled opponents for the last two weeks due to health and safety protocols in the opposing programs. 

vs. Ouachita Baptist
The Bearcats exited the match with a 33-10 win over the Tigers and opened up the match in an equally successful manner, collecting 15 points in the first three matches. Freshman Christian Cartright (125lb) kicked off the Sunday outing with a victory by fall (2:55) over Noah Yeamans, putting the bearcats on top 6-0 immediately. Senior Ryan Ripplinger (133lb) then collected a win by forfeit, followed by a decision win (12-7) by freshman Joey Semerad (141lb) against Hudson Herring. The Tigers of Ouachita Baptist then took one back with a decision in the 149 class, making the overall score 15-3 in favor of the Bearcats. McKendree then captured four straight matches with senior Jose Champagne (157lb) earning a tech fall (16-0, 3:43) over Chase Howerton, tacking on five more points for the Bearcats. Redshirt freshman Cory Peterson (165lb) added a decision victory (5-3, SV-1) over Adrian Salazar-Rivera which was followed by a major decision (13-5) by Joshua Jones (174lb) against Will Martin. Graduate senior Daniel Filipek collected another win via pin for the Bearcats, beating Ryan Cochran at the 2:35 mark. McKendree owned a 33-3 lead over the Tigers prior to the 197 and 285 classes, where Ouachita Baptist added two more wins, bringing the dual match to 33-10. 

vs. Lindenwood
In the Bearcats' second dual of the outing, they faced off against 2020 GLVC champion, Lindenwood and collected a second win of the weekend with a 26-9 win over the Lions. McKendree began the dual with a decision win (8-5) by redshirt sophomore Christian Mejia (125lb) over Isaac Jacquez, givving the Bearcats a 3-0 lead. The Lion took wins by decision in the 133, 141, and 149 classes, which put the league-foe Lindenwood up 9-3 on the fifth-ranked Bearcats. McKendree got back on track with a 4-3 decision by Champagne (157lb) against Anthony Michaels, which marked the first of six-straight matches won to cap off the Lindenwood dual for the Bearcats. Peterson also nabbed a 4-3 decision in the 165lb. class, beating Nate Trepanier, to follow Champagne and tie the dual at 9-9. McKendree tacked on a pair of major decisions from Jones and Filipek with the junior Jones defeating Elijah Mahan,13-3, and the senior Filipek getting the major by a count of 12-4. In the 197 class, graduate senior Vincenzo Scaletta earned a 14-9 decision victory over Luke Dickhaus, which put the fifth-ranked Bearcats up 20-9. Redshirt freshman Ian Kuehl added the last six points for McKendree with a pin victory at the 6:40 mark, by dropping Michael Kramer in the 285 matchup. 

vs. Maryville
The final dual for McKendree was up against the host Maryville, which the Bearcats collected a third win of the weekend and seventh-straight overall, with a final of 25-15 over the Saints. The Saint took the lead to kick off the final dual, with a decision (5-3) in the 125 class. McKendree responded with a 6-1 decision by Ripplinger over Austin Wadlow in the 133 and then gained six points via a forfeiture in the 141 class andtook the lead, 9-3, over the Saints. Maryville gained three more points in the 149 class with a decision, which put the Saints behind 9-6. McKendree gained seven pointsin the next two matchups with Champagne adding a major decision (13-3) over Luke Ebers in the 157 and Peterson collecting a 5-3 decision in the 165. The Bearcats 174, freshman Max Rinklin, collected a win via forfeit, pushing the lead to 22-6 for McKendree. in the 184, Maryville earned a 2-0 decision and three points but the Bearcats struck back with another win by the graduate senior Filipek (3-1 decision, SV-1). The hosting-Saints won the 285 class by pin (2:41), which cut the deficit to 10 points, 25-15 in favor of the Bearcats. 

UP NEXT:
No.5 McKendree men's wrestling will host its first GLVC dual of the season and a top-10 matchup against No.7 UIndy on Wednesday, January 26, at Melvin Price Convocation Center at 7 P.M. The Bearcats own the last eight matchups betwee the two programs, including a 20-11 victory last year on January 24 in Indianapolis. 

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