Men’s Wrestling Takes on KCAC Heavyweights Ottawa
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (RV) Avila men's wrestling had another tough test in the first half of the 2023-24 campaign, welcoming the top team in the KCAC and the No. 12 team in the NAIA, Ottawa, to Mabee Fieldhouse on Thursday night. The Braves ultimately earned a 35-15 victory, but the Eagles fared well against the conference's best, showcasing the program's steady improvement as it moves into year three.
Ottawa has been the team to beat in the KCAC in men's wrestling since Avila's program was founded, and the Braves were a preseason top ten team in the NAIA this season as well, evidence of their prestige on the national stage. But the Eagles continue to improve and grow across the board in year three of the program and year one under head coach Eric Mateo: even though the Braves ultimately won the team dual on Thursday night, Avila won four total matches, a significant improvement from how Avila vs. Ottawa has gone in many previous iterations of the matchup – a sure sign of the growth of the young Avila program.
The Eagles proved early on Thursday that this matchup would be different than some previous ones. Former Ottawa Brave Tyler Johnson got the night started in his season debut at his new weight, 125, and worked out a 12-7 decision over Benjamin Pope to give the Eagles three team points off the top. Braden Ledford fired back with a tech fall at 133, and Jacob Ramirez retaliated with an impressive 11-3 major decision at 141.
That gave the Eagles a 7-5 edge after three bouts, but it was only a matter of time before the Braves got rolling. Once Irish Furthmyre finished off a second-period pin at 149, the Braves quickly rattled off two more falls and a forfeit victory, quickly ballooning the score out to 29-7 and wrapping up the team victory.
But the Eagles did not go down without a fight. Next up after the forfeit was the 184 weight class and a potential matchup of a pair of ranked wrestlers – but Ottawa elected to bump JD Perez up to 197 and instead send Rocco D'Ascoli out to face Avila's top-ranked wrestler Daryus Webb. Webb took care of business with a major there, and Perez followed suit with a win at 197, leaving that long-awaited matchup between two standouts to be awaited even longer.
Nathan Coley finished off the night with an emphatic, testy 9-0 shutout of Max Knard at heavyweight, giving the Eagles their fourth win of the night, third by major decision. The Braves simply scored more team points in the individual matches they won, however, leading Ottawa to a 35-15 victory despite a strong showing from the Eagles.
Up next, Avila men's wrestling will return to Mabee Fieldhouse for another KCAC dual against Saint Mary next Thursday, December 8. The women kick off the dual doubleheader at 7 PM with the men to follow at 8; as always, you can watch all the action on the Avila Sports Network with James Russell on the call from Kansas City.
