Lindenwood wrestling took to the mat Saturday in the GLVC Championship wrestling on Saturday in Hyland Arena and went 2-1 on the day, defeating Drury and Maryville to finish third.

Match #1 Quarterfinal
In the opening round, #4 seed Lindenwood defeated #5 seed Drury 27-13.  The Lions started off the match with a 5-2 win by freshman Austin Kegley at 125 and then dropped the match at 133.  One of the feature matches of the entire day was at 141 with #3 Colby Smith of Lindenwood taking on #8 Peter Kuster.  The two had met twice earlier this year and split those two match-ups, but today, Smith was able to outlast Kuster to earn a 5-4 decision.

The match up at 165 pounds proved to be another matchup between nationally ranked opponents as #7 Nate Trepainer batted #10 ranked Will Kuster. Trepanier was able to fight off early attacks by Kuster and rallied to earn a dominant 15-0 technical fall.

The Lions lead 18-13 heading into the match at 197 and Lindenwood freshman Ryan Golnick scored a takedown in the first overtime period to defeat Tucker Caswell giving the Lions an insurmountable lead for the match and secured the win in the dual.

125 - Austin Kegley over Caden Howard  Dec 5-2
133 - Brandon Borlinghaus over Kalen Napier  Fall 6:09
141 - Colby Smith over Peter Kuster  Dec 5-4
149 - Jack Tangen over Sam Schultz  Dec 5-3
157 - Trevor Christian over Anthony Michaels  Dec 8-2
165 - Nate Trepanier over Will Kuster  TF 15-0
174 - Elijah Mahan over Ethan Smith  Maj 9-1
184 - Kolby Estes over Zac Russel  Maj 12-2
197 - Ryan Golnick over Tucker Caswell  SV-1 4-2
285 - Michael Kramer won via forfeit
 
Match #2 Semifinal
In the semifinal match up, the #1 seed McKendree was too much for the Lions and the Bearcats defeated Lindenwood 31-13.

The Lions dropped the first two matches before rallying to win the next two.  Colby Smith won via a major decision and Jack Tangen earned a hard fought match versus Joseph Semerad, each of them earning their second wins of the day. Senior Nate Trepanier had a big first round pin over Roderick Love at 165, but that pin would be the final win in the dual for the Lions.

125 - Christian Mejia over Austin Kegley  TF 21-6
133 - Ryan Ripplinger  over Kalen Napier  Fall 4:22
141 - Colby Smith over Brody Norman  Maj 8-0
149 - Jack Tangen over Joseph Semerad  Dec 4-1
157 - Jose Champagne over Dawson Sickmeier  Fall 1:36
165 - Nate Trepanier over Rodrick Love  Fall 1:49
174 - Josh Jones over Elijah Mahan  Dec 6-3
184 - Rozell Baker over Zac Russel  Maj 17-5
197 - Dan Filipek over Ryan Golnick  Maj 14-2
285 - Ian Kuehl over Michael Kramer  Dec 7-3
 
Match #3 3rd Place Match
After splitting the first two duals the Lions matched up against the #3 seed Maryville Saints in the third place match.  Behind a huge first round pin by Austin Kegley that gave the Lions the early lead and enough momentum to help Lindenwood defeat Maryville 24-18.

The trio of Smith, Tangen and Trepanier kept their winning ways with each earning wins. Colby Smith won his third match of the day with a 5-2 win at 141 and Jack Tangen also earned this third match with a victory via forfeit.  Trepainer's 4-0 win over Tanner Sparks gave the Lions a 24-3 lead and the Lindenwood was able to hold on for the victory.

125 - Austin Kegley over Anthony Pisciotta Fall 0:55
133 - Kalen Napier won via forfeit
141 - Colby Smith over Taylor Jokerst  Dec 5-2
149 - Jack Tangen won via forfeit
157 - Luke Ebers over Dawson Sickmeier  Dec 8-3
165 - Nate Trepanier over Tanner Sparks  Dec 4-0
174 - Bret Heil over Elijah Mahan  TF 21-2
184 - Joey Williams over Zac Russel  Maj 14-4
197 - James Anding over Ryan Golnick  Dec 3-1
285 - Ryan Herman over Michael Kramer  Dec 3-0  
 
The Lions will be off for two weeks to prepare for the NCAA Division II SuperRegional that will be hosted in Hyland Arena on Saturday, February 26.