LEBANON, Tenn.-- CU Wrestling honored their seniors with back-to-back dual wins over Rio Grande and No. 9 Campbellsville. The Phoenix topped the Tigers for the first time in 14 seasons with the upset victory in the finale.
The 18-ranked Phoenix kicked off their senior night with a 50-0 victory over Rio Grande. Chris Busutil put CU up 6-0 after pinning Colin Greenwood at 1:21 at the 125 class in the first match of the evening. Sammy Sires and Jared Dinh each picked up a win by forfeit in the 133 and 141 classes to push it out to 18-0.
Ramiro Mosquera added three points for the Phoenix in his 7-0 decision over Mitchell Freeman at 149. Eli Clemmons recorded a pin against Kaylin Frost at the 157 weight class to go up 27-0.
Cole Smith and senior Ryan Long each picked up first period pins to put Cumberland up 39-0. Senior Austin Antcliffe recorded a 12-8 decision victory over Anthony Parks and JT Oldknow followed with a 18-0 technical fall over Aiden Green. Senior River Henry completed the 50-0 sweep with a 6-0 decision.
The Phoenix carried their momentum into the next match, where they posted a huge 21-4 victory over Campbellsville- the team’s first time defeating the Tigers since 2009.
Busutil picked up a 4-1 decision win over Izeah Beavers to put the Phoenix up early at 3-0 and Shires pushed the lead out to six with a 9-2 decision over Troy Kennedy. Dinh picked up four points for CU in a 14-6 major decision over Cole Fort.
No. 9 Dayton Marvel put Campbellsville on the board with a 4-2 decision over Guzman, who was wrestling up from 141, to bring the score to 10-3.
A tight match between No. 12 Clemmons and No. 15 Jake Hurst resulted in a double forfeit as things got heated on the mat. Both teams lost points in the mixup with unsportsmanlike conduct fouls, bringing the score down to 9-1.
Smith- ranked first in the nation in the 165 weight class- picked up his second win of the day in a 10-6 decision over the No. 8 ranked Gavin Smith.
Long brought the Phoenix up by eleven after picking three points in a 5-3 decision. Antcliffe followed suit with a 4-2 decision victory of his own, adding three points to the Phoenix lead.
Campbellsville picked up their second win of the match as No. 9 Grayson Stevens recorded a 4-0 decision over Oldknow, but Henry sealed Cumberland’s win with an upset decision over 17th ranked Jaden Sonner.
Cumberland will be back in action at the Missouri Valley invite on January 20-21 in Marshall, Mo.
