From University of Chicago Athletics

The University of Chicago wrestling team utilized a youth-filled lineup on Saturday at the Lakeland College Duals and came away with a 1-2 record on the day. The Maroons are now 3-7 on the season in dual matches.

"We had eight freshmen in starting roles today, and as a group they performed well," said Head Coach Leo Kocher. "This freshman class performs better every time out. Senior Ryan Walsh wrestled smart matches and had a good day for us. To win four of nine matches versus Dubuque and four of eight matches versus St. John's was good with the lineup we had to put out there."

UChicago won its opening match handily over host Lakeland by a final margin of 40-13. The Muskies forfeited in four weight classes to account for the sizable disparity. In the contested matches, each team won three times. Sophomore Devan Richter got the Maroons off on a good foot with a pin in the first minute of his match at 125 pounds. Two-straight forfeits made the score 18-0 and UChicago cruised from there with a comfortable lead. Freshmen Luke Iida and Jason Lynch both posted dominating technical fall victories at 157 pounds and 174 pounds, respectively.

The next opponent was University of Dubuque. The Spartans outlasted the Maroons 25-17. Richter put up another win at the outset, this time a 10-2 major decision. Sophomore Nick Ferraro pinned his 165-pound opposition in the final second of the match. UChicago made things interesting with wins by freshman Duncan Payne (10-0 major decision) at 184 pounds and Walsh (5-2 decision) at 197 pounds. But Dubuque snagged the final match at heavyweight to stave off the upset bid.

St. John's University (Minn.) was the final matchup for UChicago and the Maroons lost 33-20. Richter added another first-period pin – he now has 17 falls out of his 24 career victories. Iida nabbed a pin of his own and Ferraro followed directly with a 19-4 technical fall win. Walsh recorded UChicago last win of the day with a 4-1 decision.