Panthers drop nail-biting dual

Mt. Pleasant and Ft. Madison went toe-to-toe in a Southeast Conference dual on Thursday night. The Panthers staged a late comeback against the Bloodhounds, but a Ft. Madison pin in the final match clinched the meet 39-31.

A couple of ranked wrestlers got things going for both teams. Ft. Madison's Sam Hayes, the third-ranked wrestler at 195 lbs., began the dual with a 33-second pin over Mt. Pleasant's Trevor Wellington. Fifth-ranked Zach Beason gave the Panthers six points of their own with a 31-second pin over Ft. Madison's Jarrett Settles, and it was 6-6 after two matches.

Ft. Madison took a 12-6 leaqd on a 38-second pin by Danen Settles at 285 lbs, but Mt. Pleasant came back to take a brief lead with three wins in a row. Corbin Broeker won the 106 lbs. match 6-4. Carson Coleman won the 113 lbs. match 10-5, and Brayden Ackles took the 120 lbs. match 8-5.

'That was good for those guys coming off a tough weekend and getting some decision wins and trying to get us back,” said head coach Anthony Blint. 'Some guys you look for to get some bonus points, but it just didn't happen tonight.”

Ft. Madison struck back with three wins in a row. Dayne Cordray won the 126 lbs. match in just 22 seconds, and Mason Schau won the 132 lbs. match via a pin in the second period. Nathan Steffensmeier outlasted Avante Henley 13-12 in the tightest match of the night, and the Bloodhounds led 27-15.

Mt. Pleasant's Nathan Wallace picked up four points on a 12-0 major decision to cut the Bloodhound lead to 27-19 after the 145 lbs. match. Keaton Poe picked up six for Ft. Madison with a second-period pin at 152 lbs.

Trailing 33-19 with three matches to go, Jayden Davis and James DeMeyer picked up back-to-back pins at 160 lbs. and 170 lbs. Davis pinned his man in 43 seconds and DeMeyer won his match in 1:57 to cut the lead to 33-31.

Brennen Bender stepped to the mat at 170 lbs. for the final match of the day, but he had his hands full with Diego Lozano, one of the Bloodhounds' best guys. Lozano won on a pin in the first period, and Ft. Madison escaped.

'We lost the match, plain and simple,” Coach Blint said after the meet. 'There's no ‘ifs' ‘ands' or ‘buts' about it. A bunch of the matches were close, but they scored at the end, so they got the W.”

It was Mt. Pleasant's second SEC dual of the year. The Panthers beat Keokuk on the road earlier this season, making them 1-1 so far in conference play. The Panthers will next be in Iowa City for the Regina Inviational on Saturday, Dec. 15.

Full results for Thursday night's dual can be found below, with the Mt. Pleasant wrestlers name listed first.

Ft. Madison 39 vs. Mt. Pleasant 33: 195: Trevor Wellington pinned by Sam Hayes (0:33). 220: Zach Beason pins Jarrett Settles (0:31). 285: Chase Adams pinned by Danen Settles (0:38). 106: Corbin Broeker dec. Owen Kruse 6-4. 113: Carson Coleman dec. Elton Kruse (10-5). 120: Brayden Ackles dec. Gavin Wiseman (8-5). 126: Dalton Moyle pinned by Dayne Cordray (0:22). 132: Tyler Raub pinned by Mason Schau (3:40). 138: Avante Henley dec. by Nathan Steffensmeier (13-12). 145: Nathan Wallace major dec. Dalton Woolever (12-0). Jeff Taylor pinned by Keaton Poe (3:11). 160: Jayden Davis pins Chance Decker (0:43). 170: James DeMeyer pins Chance Hocker (1:57). 182: Brennen Bender pinned by Diego Lozano (0:31).