(ASHLAND, Ohio) - The Lake Erie College Storm wrestling team fell to the No. 4 ranked Ashland University Eagles with a final team score of 21-15. There was still plenty to take away, however, as the individual highlight of the dual for the Storm was Brandon Tenney's 2-1 decision over the No. 4 wrestler in the country at 149 in Carson Speelman.
The dual began at 125 with Jake Johnson dropping a 5-4 decision at the buzzer in a back-and-forth match. Jacob Donahue accepted a forfeit at 133 for the Storm. Andrew Lieb followed Donahue with a wild, point-filled decision at 141. It was the most combined points scored out of any contest as Lieb came out on top 11-10.
Ashland began its comeback at 157 as Jacob Potok (157) and James Penfold (165) both lost close bouts. The Eagles used the strength of two NCAA All-Americans to take an 18-12 lead after 184.
Christopher Droege got the Storm back on track with a decision at 197 and closed the gap to 18-15 going to the final at 285. It left Lake Erie with an opportunity to pull off the upset, but Ashland was able to close out the dual with a victory with another returning All-American.
Despite the loss, Head coach Jeff Breese was proud of the way his team performed against one of the top teams in the country.
"We competed the right way in every bout tonight," said Breese. "This group has continued to grow and use each opportunity to compete as an opportunity to grow. Ashland is a very good team from top to bottom with several All-Americans in their line-up.
"We battled them tough with four freshmen in our lineup and seven guys making their true dual debut for Lake Erie. It was a great environment for a dual meet and I am happy we could make it an entertaining dual for the fans that traveled to see us, despite not getting the dual victory."
Wrestling heads to Davenport, Michigan, on this Friday for its next competition.
FULL RESULTS
Ashland Wrestling vs. Lake Erie – Jan. 12, 2020
Kates Gymnasium – Ashland, OH
125: Christian Wellman (ASH) over Jacob Johnson (LEC) (Dec 5-4)
133: Jacob Donahue (LEC) over (ASH) (For.)
141: Andrew Lieb (LEC) over Justin Wilcox (ASH) (Dec 11-10)
149: Brandon Tenney (LEC) over Carson Speelman (ASH) (Dec 2-1)
157: Cameron Jenkins (ASH) over Jacob Potok (LEC) (Dec 7-3)
165: Christian Price (ASH) over James Penfold (LEC) (Dec 4-2)
174: Bret Romanzak (ASH) over John Penfold (LEC) (MD 12-4)
184: Aidan Pasiuk (ASH) over Brylan Clouse (LEC) (TF 15-0 7:00)
197: Christopher Droege (LEC) over Peter Abraham (ASH) (Dec 4-2)
285: Tristen Weirich (ASH) over Devin Uzelac (LEC) (Dec 7-4)
FINAL: No. 8 Ashland 21, Lake Erie 15
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