CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Washington & Jefferson College wrestling team traveled to Northeast Ohio to participate in the Claude Sharer Duals hosted by Case Western Reserve University on Saturday. W&J put together a 1-2 dual record at the event. 
 
The Presidents dropped the first match of the day by a 37-8 score to the host Spartans before later suffering a tough 27-25 setback against Otterbein University. W&J finished its day with a dual win over Mount St. Joseph due to tiebreaker criteria. 
 
Case Western Reserve 37, W&J 8
 
Taylor Smith (Mifflintown, Pa. / Juniata) continued his impressive freshman campaign with a commanding technical fall victory at 149 pounds. Smith rolled to a victory by technical fall over Calvin Cai, who entered the day with a 14-6 record this season at 149 pounds. Smith recorded seven take downs in the 22-6 tech. fall victory in 6:42.  
 
Trevor Manley (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) posted the other victory for the Presidents against the Spartans. The junior picked up a first period takedown and rode the early lead to a 6-2 victory by decision over Kevin Heineman at 285 pounds. 
 
W&J fell victim to several other close calls versus CWRU. Hunter Swedish (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) fell short at 141 pounds, as the junior was edged by a 7-5 score. Wrestling at 157 pounds, sophomore Bryce Rodriguez-Uram (Carnegie, Pa./Carlynton) held a lead late in the third period, but a late takedown helped CWRU take the match by a 7-5 decision. Freshman Jaden Fields (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) suffered a similar fate at 184 pounds, as Matthew Gummere used a third period takedown to secure that 184-pound match by a 5-4 score for CWRU. 
 
Elijah Guzman (Fresno, Calif./César E. Chávez) won by fall in an exhibition match at 157 pounds. Guzman picked up the victory in 4:38 over Justin Sweeney of Case. 
 
 
Otterbein 27, W&J 25
 
The Presidents opened the match with a win by forfeit as they were unopposed at 125 pounds. After dropping the 133-pound match, W&J ripped off three-straight wins. After an early first period takedown, Swedish needed just 1:58 to win by fall over Trace Williams at 141 pounds. 
 
Smith added another strong victory 149 pounds. The freshman racked up five takedowns as he coasted to a 16-4 major decision victory over Nathan Leko. 
 
Rodriguez-Uram made quick work of his opponent at 157 pounds. The sophomore picked up an early takedown before earning the win by fall in 27 seconds over Bo Branson. At that point W&J led 22-6 in the team standings. However, the Cardinals made a run in the middle weights to cut into the Presidents' lead and eventually claim the match. 
 
The Presidents dropped the matches at 165 and 174 pounds by fall. Those bonus-point victories and a win by decision at 184 pounds brought the Cardinals within a single point in the team standings, as the Presidents' lead was cut to 22-21. 
 
Christian McChesney (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Salem) earned a hard-fought win for the Presidents at 197 pounds. The freshman used a late takedown to secure a narrow 4-3 win over Brandon Thomas. 
 
Otterbein secured the match victory with a win by fall at 285 pounds in 3:14. 
 
W&J 26, Mount St. Joseph 26 (W&J wins on pins tiebreaker 4-3)
 
The first five matches were decided by fall. The Lions claimed the victories at 125 and 133 pounds, respectively. 
 
The Presidents responded with three-straight wins by fall. Swedish needed just 1:23 to secure the win by fall at 141 pounds. Smith then completed a 3-0 day with a victory by fall in just 2:38 at 149 pounds. Rodriguez-Uram made it a 2-1 day with a fall in just 31 seconds over Hayden Newell to push W&J in front 18-12. 
 
MSJ picked up a win by tech. fall at 165 pounds before adding a win by fall at 174 to regain the lead at 23-18. 
 
Fields pushed the Presidents back in front with a win by fall at 184 pounds. Fields needed just 1:34 to earn the victory over Noah Johnson. 
 
McChesney earned his second win over the day at 197 pounds. McChesney won 8-2 by decision over Kaleb Gelter of MSJ. A win by decision at 285 pounds evened the score at the match's conclusion. 
 
This marked the second time this season that W&J and MSJ needed a tiebreaker to determine the winner. W&J held a 4-3 advantage in wins by pin fall. 
 
W&J returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 17 when they host Saint Vincent College for Senior night. The conference match will begin at 7 p.m. inside Salvitti Family Gymnasium. 
 
 
 
 
 
Match By Match Results
 
Case Western Reserve University 37, Washington & Jefferson 8
125: E.J. Alizio (CWRU) over Michael Cruz (W&J) (Fall 4:18) CWRU 6, W&J 0
133: Jacob Gregg (CWRU) over Daniel Verscharen (W&J) (Fall 2:11) CWRU 12, W&J 0
141: Art Martinez (CWRU) over Hunter Swedish (W&J) (Dec 7-5) CWRU 15, W&J 0
149: Taylor Smith (W&J) over Calvin Cai (CWRU) (TF 22-6 6:42) CWRU 15, W&J 5
157: Thomas Wagner (CWRU) over Bryce Rodriguez-Uram (W&J) (Dec 7-5) CWRU 18, W&J 5
165: Mitchell Arch (CWRU) over Kevin Courseault Jr (W&J) (Fall 2:16) CWRU 24, W&J 5
174: Simon Bishop (CWRU) over (W&J) (For.) CWRU 30, W&J 5
184: Mathew Gummere (CWRU) over Jaden Fields (W&J) (Dec 5-4) CWRU 33, W&J 5
197: Stephen Andryc (CWRU) over Christian McChesney (W&J) (MD 15-3) CWRU 37, W&J 5
285: Trevor Manley (W&J) over Keith Heineman (CWRU) (Dec 6-2) CWRU 37, W&J 8
Exhibition - 157: Elijah Guzman (W&J) over Justin Sweeney (CWRU) (Fall 4:38)
 
Otterbein University 27, Washington & Jefferson College 25
125: Daniel Verscharen (W&J) over (Ott) (For.) W&J 6, Ott 0
133: Tamas Eder (Ott) over Michael Cruz (W&J) (Fall 0:46) W&J 6, Ott 6
141: Hunter Swedish (W&J) over Trace Williams (Ott) (Fall 1:58) W&J 12, Ott 6
149: Taylor Smith (W&J) over Nathan Leko (Ott) (MD 16-4) W&J 16, Ott 6
157: Bryce Rodriguez-Uram (W&J) over Bo Branson (Ott) (Fall 0:27) W&J 22, Ott 6
165: Cale Callahan (Ott) over Kevin Courseault Jr (W&J) (Fall 4:07) W&J 22, Ott 12
174: Logan Cormell (Ott) over Joshua Searle (W&J) (Fall 3:46) W&J 22, Ott 18
184: Gary Steele (Ott) over Jaden Fields (W&J) (Dec 7-3) W&J 22, Ott 21
197: Christian McChesney (W&J) over Brandon Thomas (Ott) (Dec 4-3) W&J 25, Ott 21
285: Billy Reed-Bodey (Ott) over Trevor Manley (W&J) (Fall 3:14) Ott 27, W&J 25
 
Exhibition – 149: Owen Crabtree (Ott) over Matthew Gariano (W&J) (MD 13-4) 
149: Carter Mottley (Ott) over Jaizik Sanabria (W&J) (Fall 1:21) 
184: Cade Holmes (Ott) over Noah Byrum (W&J) (Fall 1:23)
197: Caiden Hooks (Ott) over Logan Smith (W&J) (Fall 1:38) 
197: Matthew Bachie (Ott) over Logan Smith (W&J) (Dec 3-1)


Washington & Jefferson College 26, Mount St. Joseph 26 (W&J wins on pins tiebreaker, 4-3)
125: Jordan Miller (MSJ) over Michael Cruz (W&J) (Fall 1:23) MSJ 6, W&J 0
133: Desmond Diggs (MSJ) over Daniel Verscharen (W&J) (Fall 0:21) MSJ 12, W&J 0
141: Hunter Swedish (W&J) over Jorden Zigo (MSJ) (Fall 1:23) MSJ 12, W&J 6
149: Taylor Smith (W&J) over Cahiel Linton (MSJ) (Fall 2:38) MSJ 12, W&J 12
157: Bryce Rodriguez-Uram (W&J) over Hayden Newell (MSJ) (Fall 0:31) W&J 18, MSJ 12
165: Roger Deck (MSJ) over Elijah Guzman (W&J) (TF 19-4 7:00) W&J 18, MSJ 17
174: Jermaine Poynter (MSJ) over Kevin Courseault Jr (W&J) (Fall 4:01) MSJ 23, W&J 18
184: Jaden Fields (W&J) over Noah Johnson (MSJ) (Fall 1:34) W&J 24, MSJ 23
197: Christian McChesney (W&J) over Kaleb Gelter (MSJ) (Dec 8-2) W&J 27, MSJ 23
285: Rowan Tolbert (MSJ) over Trevor Manley (W&J) (Dec 8-2) W&J 27, MSJ 26
(W&J uc -1.0) W&J 26, MSJ 26

Exhibition - 157: Hayden Newell (MSJ) over Jiovanni DeChicchis (W&J) (MD 10-2)