After losing at home to the University of Toledo in its last meet, the BGSU club wrestling team went into the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) Ohio Duals looking to redeem itself.
The Falcons finished third at the NCWA Ohio Duals, beating the University of Cincinnati (39-18), Ohio University (31-20), and the University of Toledo (33-18), which moved them to 2-1 against UT in head-to-head duals.
However, the Falcons lost to Miami (12-43) and OSU (15-30), the first and second place teams respectively.
Perhaps the most impressive performances this weekend came from BGSU sophomore Anthony Nicholson (141) and junior Jon Berrien (133), both winning all five of their matches and taking the championships in their weight classes.
The victories put Nicholson at a team best 12-1 on the season and Berrien at 12-2, both leading the team in victories.
“I felt very comfortable with trying new moves out on the mat,” Nicholson said. “I think I could have been a little sharper with my takedowns, which I will improve on this week. But other than that I felt great.”
Many of Nicholson’s teammates are also impressed by his development throughout the season.
“Anthony Nicholson had a great weekend going 5-0 and wrestled really well,” said teammate Dan Mundrick. “He has been improving the whole season and keeps getting better.”
After losing his first match of the season against UT on Jan. 21, Mundrick (149) was looking to show everyone that he was still the dominant wrestler he has been all season.
Mundrick finished 4-1, putting him at 11-2 on the year, and captured first at 149 after winning the championship match in the final seconds of the last period. The lone loss for Mundrick came in a match in which Mundrick moved up a weight class and wrestled at 157 pounds.
Sophomore Blain Napier (184) went 2-2 over the weekend and thinks the Falcons have proven they are a team to be reckoned with for the rest of the season, especially at the conference championships.
“This weekend I felt that I did alright,” Napier said. “I think as a team we knew that we had to prove that we were as good as the other teams this weekend, and I believe we did so by taking 3rd place next to Miami (Ohio) and Ohio State.”
Added Mundrick: “We really stepped it up and wrestled hard the whole time. The team gets along really well together and everyone went out on the mat and did their best.”
This weekend won’t get any easier for the Falcons when the No. 1 ranked Grand Valley State University, No. 9 OSU Buckeyes and the University of Rio Grande all come to Bowling Green on Saturday for a quad meet with implications for conference seeding.
However, most of the team says that won’t prepare any differently than they usually do.
“We always carry the same intensity in the room from week to week which benefits us greatly,” Justin Slauterbeck said. “The constant hard work we put in will eventually pay off.”
The Falcons have not faced GVSU this season, but they have wrestled the OSU Buckeyes twice and Rio Grande three times.
“We will be ready to go to the wall with them and give them all they can handle,” Nicholson said. “Every match will be a dogfight.”
Added Mundrick: “They put their shoes on the same way as us. We are going to give them everything we got and let them know who BGSU is.”
Mundrick wrestled under GVSU coach Dave Mills when he was younger and his father, Terry Mundrick, coached with Mills for 11 years prior to coming to BGSU.
The meet is Saturday, Feb. 4 at 1 p.m. at Bowling Green High School on W. Poe Road.
