The University of Indianapolis wrestlers honored five seniors prior to competing against the University of Findlay on Jan. 22. Despite the 23-12 loss by the Hounds, Head Wrestling Coach Jason Warthan said that he was pleased with his wrestlers.
“I’m proud of the effort, honestly,” Warthan said. “We were short-handed. We had quite a few guys banged up. We have some important stuff coming up, so ultimately we’ve got to err to the side of looking down the road.”
The team started the match on a high note as redshirt freshman D.J. Smith won 10-3 in the 125 lbs. weight class. This was followed shortly by losses in 133, 141, 149 and 157. Senior Clayton Monebrake broke the streak with an 8-7 victory at 165 lbs. Monebrake said he was happy with his close victory and the team performance as a whole.
“I feel good. I’ve been working hard as we get toward the end of the season now,” Monebrake said. “We are picking up the pace in the room a little bit. We were a little short-handed tonight, but I think there was good effort.”
Freshman Jordan Collins snagged a win in a close match with a last second reversal to clinch the 7-8 victory at 174 lbs. UIndy’s last win came from an 8-2 decision from sophomore Brian Wagner at 197 lbs. Findlay picked up the last victory at heavyweight to bring the final team score to 23-12 against the Greyhounds.
As the Hounds edge closer to the end of their season, Warthan reflected on the team’s efforts this year.
“We are a bit of a head scratcher because we have beaten some top teams and lost to some unranked teams, but the goals really haven’t changed,” Warthan said. “Everybody who goes into the regional tournament has a shot to make it to Nationals. We have a solid lineup from top to bottom, so the goal is [to have] 10 National Qualifiers.”
Monebrake said his own goals echoed those of Warthan.
“My personal goal is to make it to Nationals and [to be an] All-American,” Monebrake said. “As a team, hopefully we can be right up there with the top three at regionals.”
The Greyhounds will next be in action at the Super Region 2 Duals in Hartsville, S.C. on Jan. 29-30.
Seniors Josh Kieffer, Justin Kieffer, Lucas Rooney, Monebrake and Brian Snyder were recognized before the match.
