Avila Men Fare Well against KCAC's Best
OTTAWA, Kan. – No. 7 Ottawa ultimately earned a 27-12 victory, but the men of (RV) Avila wrestling gave the Braves all they could handle – the Eagles won three matches and very nearly took two more against the best team in the KCAC on Friday night in Ottawa, continuing to show signs of improvement from year one of the program to year two.
Six straight match victories in the middle of the dual helped Ottawa move to what ultimately was a comfortable win in the final analysis, but the Eagles by no means made it easy. Friday's result is impressive when considering that more than half of Ottawa's starting ten Friday were nationally ranked for a team that is considered one of the ten best in the NAIA. The result is even more impressive when considering how resounding the Braves' win over the Eagles last season was – last year, Avila didn't score a single team point, and this year, Avila gave the best wrestling team in the KCAC a very strong effort.
The Braves got the first points of the night via a forfeit, but the Eagles, impressively, kept the Braves in the ballpark – to borrow a metaphor from another sport – all night long: every one of Ottawa's wins on the mat came via decision, either major or standard, which helped the Eagles keep the scoreline within reach for much of the night.
After the forfeit, Tyler Johnson [against his former team] got Avila on the board with an 11-6 victory over Braden Ledford, ranked No. 24 in the country at 133. Ottawa then was able to seize control of the dual by winning the next six bouts – but two were very close. Luke Ward dropped a 5-3 decision to Bobby Robinson at 141, and Daryus Webb fell in a Top 20 showdown against Jesse Daniel Perez at 184 when Perez got a takedown literally in the match's final seconds to tie the score before the bonus point for riding time gave him a 13-12 decision.
That sealed the dual in favor of the Braves, but the Eagles continued to finish strong. Corey Holmes drew the start at 197 for Avila and turned in an impressive result, pinning Max Knard to snap Ottawa's team win streak. Griff Qualls then capped off the night by edging out a 6-5 victory against Justin Darter, ranked No. 19 in the country at heavyweight, Qualls' first ranked win of the season. Still, those nine team points at the end of the night weren't enough to change the final result: Ottawa prevailed 27-12, snapping the Eagles' dual win streak at six.
Avila men's wrestling will soon have another chance to start another dual win streak in another KCAC clash next week when the Eagles travel to Leavenworth to take on Saint Mary. The women will first face the Spires at 6 PM, with the men to follow at 7; as always, you can catch all the action on the KCAC Network.
