The Lindenwood wrestling team barely fell to the Bronchos of Central Oklahoma 19-16 in a home dual on Friday in which was tied going into the heavyweight match. The Lions entered the dual ranked No. 18 in Division II while the Bronchos stood second.
 
In its first home dual of the 2017 year, Lindenwood established the tempo of the dual when 125-pounder Carlos Jacquez defeated Zac D'Amico for his team-leading 17^th victory of the season by a 5-3 decision followed by a dominating major decision and win No. 16 from Hunter Haralson at 133 pounds against Rio Zamora. Jacquez brought an overall ranking of 11 while Haralson owns the No. 5 spot.
 
After the Bronchos registered a pin to cut the Lions' lead to 7-6, Ronnie Gentile, the No. 6 wrestler among 149-pounders, provided insurance for the Lions by winning his 12th match of the season in a close 7-5 decision over Will Steltzlen. Even though the Lions led 10-6, they experienced tough losses at 157 and 165 via major decision and decision to give the Bronchos their first lead of the night at 13-10.
 
Then the biggest victory of the night occurred. Batchka Zulkhuu, the 174-pound representative for the Lions, halted his opponent Miguel Barreras, who ranks No. 5 in the nation, at any takedown chance the Broncho had. As a result, Zulkhuu collected a much needed takedown in the third round to give him a 4-1 lead while gathering an extra point for running time to secure the massive upset for senior. It was Zulkhuu's 12^th win of the season in which tied the dual back up heading into the 184-pound match.
 
David Hamil came out aggressive by collecting three points in the first round that set the tone for the match. The Lions would regain the lead after he prevailed with an 8-2 decision win. The Bronchos, however, retaliated with a decision win of their own at 197 pounds to set up a tiebreaking match at heavyweight.
 
Jake Borgmeyer attempted takedown after takedown for the Lions and stayed strong, but it was not enough to overcome the No. 5 ranked wrestler in Caleb Cotter. Cotter would clinch the match with a 5-2 win.
 
In head-to-head matchups between the two schools, the past five duals have been decided by three points or less which speaks to the intensity of the rivalry. After the defeat, the Lions become 6-3 overall while the Bronchos remain undefeated at 16-0 on the year. The Lions will visit McKendree on Wednesday, February 1 for a 7 pm dual.