MEN’S WRESTLING TAKES DOWN OTTAWA ON SENIOR NIGHT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Honoring five of its seniors – Corey Holmes Jr., Gavin Howes, Tyler Johnson, Jeremiah Voliva and Luke Ward – on Thursday night at Mabee Fieldhouse, Avila men's wrestling defeated Ottawa, 27-18 in front of a packed house of supporters.

For the second-consecutive home dual, Raul Romero got things started off hot and brought the crowd to its feet. The redshirt junior from Kansas City pinned his opponent in the first round in just 2:10.

Avila would go on to win consecutive matches as Aiden Pina won via 22-7 tech fall in the third round over Samuel Moer to keep the noise pumping throughout Mabee.

"If you jump up to an 11-0 lead, it's difficult to come back, regardless of who you are," said head coach Eric Mateo after his team's victory.

In the 149-pound class, Dru Thomas picked up Avila's third win of the day, this time from an 18-8 major victory.

The Eagles would win their final three matches of the night. In 184, Holmes won with a 10-4 decision, Rodney Trotter Jr. recorded six points from an open in the 197-pound class and Howes wrapped the night up with three points on a 2-1 decision in the 285-pound class.

After defeating Ottawa on Thursday – a team receiving votes in the latest NAIA poll – Avila has won back-to-back KCAC duals. With just three competition dates remaining before the KCAC Championships in February, Avila is improving at the right time.

"The theme of the week was 'attack,' and my call to the guys this week was to attack from the first whistle to the last," Mateo noted. "We had a great week of practice. And we have a lot of work ahead of us."

The Eagles will head to Wichita next Wednesday for duals with Friends and Oklahoma City beginning at 7 PM. 

A complete list of results from tonight's dual with Ottawa can be found here.  

 (photo credit: Ixtla Banda)