CLINTON, S.C. – Finally given the opportunity to showcase their skills in front of the Blue Hose faithful after six straight road appearances to kick off the 2022-23 campaign, the Presbyterian College men's wrestling squad found themselves in a pair of hotly-contested dogfights when facing both George Mason and Duke one after the other, unable to slow the momentum of a red-hot Patriots team before giving the Blue Devils all they could handle in the closest dual involving PC since last February. In the end, GMU grabbed a 32-6 win at the halfway point of the tri-meet which segued into a cracker of a finish during the finale, a 23-19 nail-biter that teetered toward Duke.

While Presbyterian ultimately wrapped up the busy afternoon at 0-2, there were many highlights that director Mark Cody's club can hang their hats on despite the losses. Among them, redshirt-junior Zach Wells – slowed at the season's start due to injury – picked up back-to-back W's over GMU's Logan Messer and Duke's Conor Becker, the latter opening up the floodgates to a 12-0 PC run over the course of the evening's main event.

Cordel Duhart, Malcolm Wiley, and Dominic Chavez all continued their steady climb up the roster's ranks with momentum-swaying victories in round two against the Blue Devils, moving to 14-4 over their last 18 matches between them. Wiley in particular was noticeably dominant versus Duke's Brayden Ray, obtaining a pinfall victory in less than three minutes to give the blue and white their first lead of the contest halfway home.

Moments earlier, Duhart blanked Luke Chakonis in a 3-0 decision that kept the PC train chugging, eventually leading to Wiley's pin and Chavez' 19-9 MD triumph over Ethan Grimminger in the 127-lb. feature that defiantly tied the contest up at 16 apiece.

While Cody's unit ended up being the latest obstacle in George Mason's perfect trek to this point (moving to 8-0 on the year with their two W's at the Templeton Center occurring by a combined 58 points), the Blue Hose came inches away from securing what was nearly the biggest win in program history against Duke as the sun set, evening the odds once again at 19 all once Trenton Donahue snagged an ultra-tense 9-8 decision that had the PC faithful standing in admiration.

149-pounder Patrick Rowland was the culprit towards Duke's eventual match-clinching win, improving the visitors to 3-4 in head-to-head action while dropping Presbyterian to 2-4. Nonetheless, the strides taken from the Blue Hose were as prominent as ever before across a valiant effort, aiming to turn those close losses into checks in the win column when the schedule fades into January in two weeks.
 
RESULTS VS. GEORGE MASON
157 – Loranzo Rajaonarivelo (GMU) def. Michael Ramirez (PC) by MD, 13-5 – 4-0 GMU
165 – Drew Dickson (GMU) def. Tyler Chittum (PC) by MD, 18-6 – 8-0 GMU
174 – Zach Wells (PC) def. Logan Messer (GMU) by DQ – 8-6 GMU
184 – Malachi DuVall (GMU) def. Cordel Duhart (PC) by Dec., 7-5 – 11-6 GMU
197 – Jon List (GMU) def. Malcolm Wiley (PC) by Dec., 3-1 – 14-6 GMU
285 – Donovan Sprouse (GMU) def. Morvens Saint Jean (PC) by Dec., 3-1 – 17-6 GMU
125 – Markel Baker (GMU) def. Dominic Chavez (PC) by Dec., 6-2 – 20-6 GMU
133 – Josh Jones (GMU) def. Jacob Brasseur (PC) by Fall, 2:16 – 26-6 GMU
141 – Anthony Glasl (GMU) def. Khalid Brinkley (PC) by Dec., 4-0 – 29-6 GMU
149 – Nate Higley (GMU) def. Trenton Donahue (PC) by Dec., 11-7 – 32-6 GMU
 
EXHIBITION VS. GEORGE MASON
Patrick Schellpfeffer (GMU) def. Brayden Adams (PC) by MD, 8-0
Tyler Kocak (GMU) def. David Bertrand (PC) by Dec., 9-3
 
RESULTS VS. DUKE
157 – Preston Decker (Duke) def. Michael Ramirez (PC) by MD, 15-5 – 4-0 Duke
165 – Gaetano Console (Duke) def. Tyler Chittum (PC) by Fall, 4:03 – 10-0 Duke
174 – Zach Wells (PC) def. Conor Becker (Duke) by Dec., 8-2 – 10-3 Duke
184 – Cordel Duhart (PC) def. Luke Chakonis (Duke) by Dec., 3-0 – 10-6 Duke
197 – Malcolm Wiley (PC) def. Brayden Ray (Duke) by Fall, 2:59 – 12-10 PC
285 – Jonah Niesenbaum (Duke) def. Morvens Saint Jean (PC) by Fall, 1:37, 16-12 Duke
125 – Dominic Chavez (PC) def. Ethan Grimminger (Duke) by MD, 19-9 – 16-16 Tie
133 – Drake Doolittle (Duke) def. Jacob Brasseur (PC) by Dec., 9-3 – 19-16 Duke
141 – Trenton Donahue (PC) def. Jarred Papcsy (Duke) by Dec., 9-8 – 19-19 Tie
149 – Patrick Rowland (Duke) def. Khalid Brinkley (PC) by MD, 10-2 – 23-19 Duke
 
EXHIBITION VS. DUKE
Logan Ferrero (Duke) def. Brandon Jacoby (PC) by Dec., 7-1
Christian Colman (Duke) def. Dakota Price (PC) by Fall, 2:17
Logan Ferrero (Duke) def. Joshua Williams (PC) by Fall, 2:06
Jack Wimmer (Duke) def. Caleb Roe (PC) by SV-1, 7-5
 
UP NEXT
Another extended break awaits coach Cody and co. to account for the holidays, done for the calendar year with Southern Conference territory quickly approaching. However, the Blue Hose will remain outside the realm of league play for two more dates on the schedule as the transition looms to 2023, visiting Pennsylvania on the 5^th and 6^th for a dual versus Franklin & Marshall that precedes a tournament hosted by the same institution 24 hours later.

The F&M Open that Friday will mark the first time that PC has been intertwined with the bracket system in nearly two months once the occasion arrives, having not competed in a tourney since The Citadel Open (an event that saw Wiley capture a first-place title in the 197-lb. ladder) on November 13.