Completed Event: Wrestling versus Chattanooga on January 8, 2016 , Loss , 9, to, 21
Wrestling
vs Chattanooga
L 9-21
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Saturday, December 31
Phoenix, AZ
11 a.m.
Grand Canyon
21
vs
16
Mercyhurst
Bobby Ward went 2-1 in Saturday's Grand Canyon Duals at GCU Arena.
GCU Beats No. 8 Mercyhurst; Splits Matches With No. 1 Newberry
12/31/2011 6:45:00 PM | Wrestling
No. 5 Grand Canyon went 1-2 at the Grand Canyon Duals at GCU Arena Saturday.
Wrestling three teams in the top eight in the nation, GCU beat No. 8 Mercyhurst 21-16, split the 10 matches evenly, but lost to No. 1 Newberry 19-16 and fell to No. 3 St. Cloud State 42-9.
“We got what we wanted out of the day,” said GCU head coach R.C. LaHaye. “We wrestled three of the top 10 teams in the country.
LaHaye said, what he learned most about the team was its need to be more consistent.
“We won one, we split 5-5 with No. 1 then fell flat on our face,” said LaHaye. “If you don’t show up when you wrestle a team like (St. Cloud) you’ll get beat up and that’s what happened.”
The Antelopes nearly pulled the upset of No. 1 Newberry. An overtime loss and a loss on riding time were too much to overcome. The match started out with one of the day’s many upsets. At 125, GCU’s seventh-ranked Kyle McCrite beat No. 1 ranked Connor McDonald 7-6. It was followed by a Lino Estrada 8-5 win over No. 6 Matt Oliver in the 133 contest.
Heavyweight Jordan Johnson beat No. 4 Jake Elkins 4-3 and two-time All-American Victor Carazo, wrestling his first matches of the season Saturday, defeated No. 6 Travis Sheehy 7-2 at 174. In one of the more impressive performances of the match, Celic Bell was a convincing 16-4 winner of Karl Reed at 197.
In the opener, Grand Canyon rallied from behind with wins in three of the final four matches. Freshman Dave Makara picked up his first GCU win at 141 with a 7-2 triumph over Levi Smeltzer and 149-pounder Bobby Ward handled Michael Griffith to get a major decision 13-3.
Down 12-7, GCU got back-to-back major decision victories from Carazo, a 15-3 victor over August Mizia, and 184-pounder Brett Sanchez, who defeated Michael Pollard 15-4.
Bell put the match on ice with win by fall in 6:05 over Seth Stonis.
Against third-ranked St. Cloud, GCU managed wins from McCrite and Ward. McCrite started the match off with an 8-3 win over Dylan Wright. Ward had won of the quicker pins of the day with his 1:21 match against Josh Hawk.
“St. Cloud showed the maturity that got them national runner-up last year and, in my eyes, look like they’re the best team in the country,” added LaHaye.
“The good news is it’s not March yet,” continued the coach. “We know we have to get a lot of work done.”
The ‘Lopes have a busy week ahead. It wrestles Embry-Riddle (5 p.m.) and Colorado Mesa (7 p.m.) at Antelope Gymnasium Monday and Simon Fraser (7 p.m.) Friday.
On Saturday, GCU has three more dual meets, taking on California Baptist (3 p.m.), CSU-Pueblo (5 p.m.) and Western State (7 p.m.).
GCU 21, Mercyhurst 16
Newberry 19, GCU 16
St. Cloud State 42, GCU 9
Wrestling three teams in the top eight in the nation, GCU beat No. 8 Mercyhurst 21-16, split the 10 matches evenly, but lost to No. 1 Newberry 19-16 and fell to No. 3 St. Cloud State 42-9.
“We got what we wanted out of the day,” said GCU head coach R.C. LaHaye. “We wrestled three of the top 10 teams in the country.
LaHaye said, what he learned most about the team was its need to be more consistent.
“We won one, we split 5-5 with No. 1 then fell flat on our face,” said LaHaye. “If you don’t show up when you wrestle a team like (St. Cloud) you’ll get beat up and that’s what happened.”
The Antelopes nearly pulled the upset of No. 1 Newberry. An overtime loss and a loss on riding time were too much to overcome. The match started out with one of the day’s many upsets. At 125, GCU’s seventh-ranked Kyle McCrite beat No. 1 ranked Connor McDonald 7-6. It was followed by a Lino Estrada 8-5 win over No. 6 Matt Oliver in the 133 contest.
Heavyweight Jordan Johnson beat No. 4 Jake Elkins 4-3 and two-time All-American Victor Carazo, wrestling his first matches of the season Saturday, defeated No. 6 Travis Sheehy 7-2 at 174. In one of the more impressive performances of the match, Celic Bell was a convincing 16-4 winner of Karl Reed at 197.
In the opener, Grand Canyon rallied from behind with wins in three of the final four matches. Freshman Dave Makara picked up his first GCU win at 141 with a 7-2 triumph over Levi Smeltzer and 149-pounder Bobby Ward handled Michael Griffith to get a major decision 13-3.
Down 12-7, GCU got back-to-back major decision victories from Carazo, a 15-3 victor over August Mizia, and 184-pounder Brett Sanchez, who defeated Michael Pollard 15-4.
Bell put the match on ice with win by fall in 6:05 over Seth Stonis.
Against third-ranked St. Cloud, GCU managed wins from McCrite and Ward. McCrite started the match off with an 8-3 win over Dylan Wright. Ward had won of the quicker pins of the day with his 1:21 match against Josh Hawk.
“St. Cloud showed the maturity that got them national runner-up last year and, in my eyes, look like they’re the best team in the country,” added LaHaye.
“The good news is it’s not March yet,” continued the coach. “We know we have to get a lot of work done.”
The ‘Lopes have a busy week ahead. It wrestles Embry-Riddle (5 p.m.) and Colorado Mesa (7 p.m.) at Antelope Gymnasium Monday and Simon Fraser (7 p.m.) Friday.
On Saturday, GCU has three more dual meets, taking on California Baptist (3 p.m.), CSU-Pueblo (5 p.m.) and Western State (7 p.m.).
GCU 21, Mercyhurst 16
Newberry 19, GCU 16
St. Cloud State 42, GCU 9
GCU Men's Basketball vs. Youngstown State - Highlights
Saturday, November 08
GCU Men's Basketball vs. Youngstown State - Postgame with Bryce Drew
Saturday, November 08
Head Coach Bryce Drew Sits Down with Daron Sutton
Tuesday, November 04
Inside the Locker Room: Coach Drew’s Pregame Message to Team
Tuesday, November 04