In the first home match of the 2016–2017 wrestling season for the Shippensburg University Raiders, SU defeated Waynesburg University in a thrilling 27–13 bout.

Waynesburg traveled to Heiges Field House on Shippensburg’s campus to compete in the Nov. 9 matchup. The Raiders split eight matches with Waynesburg, while Shippensburg picked up two forfeits at the 149-pound and 157-pound weight classes.

After a tough start to its season, losing three matches to Division I programs at the Drexel Duels, SU picked up its first victory with the young team looking promising.

The night began with SU’s 125-pounder sophomore David Reagan falling 12–9 in a fast-paced lightweight bout, giving Waynesburg the early advantage.

Reagan fought hard while trailing 9–2 at the end of the second period and attacked in the third by recording several takedowns to eat away at the point margin to finish 12–9.

Redshirt sophomore Mike Hafer stepped onto the mat at the 133-pound weight class to pick up a technical fall in the first period against WU adversary, Brooks Robinson, 19–0.

Senior Karl Lightner won by decision at 141-pounds, 5–3, boosting SU’s lead to 8–3 and handing momentum to the Raiders. Lightner trailed 1–3 going into the third period and was able to escape and launch a counter attack, taking his opponent down late in the third.

Lightner picked up the victory with a final bonus point via riding-time and gave his team a lift in morale to finish out the match.

The next two bouts were forfeits for WU, thus accumulating 12 team points for Shippensburg, putting SU up 20–3 heading into the key 165-pound match. Sophomore Adam Martz took control of the match with his 8–2 decision over Landon Lohr at the 165-pound weight class.

In the beginning of Martz’ bout, he was tied 1–1 going into the third period and relentlessly took down his opponent to pick up the win.

The latter section of the Raiders’ lineup featured three losses in the last four bouts, with junior Evan Ramos being the dominating victor at the 197-pound weight class.

Ramos picked up a major decision, 12–4, over WU’s Kenneth Burrs, bringing SU to a final team score of 27–13. Throughout Ramos’ intense match, he put on a takedown clinic as he took his opponent down once in the first period, twice in the second and twice in the third, with an additional bonus point being awarded for riding-time.

The Shippensburg University wrestling team prepares to take on York College and The College of New Jersey at York’s campus on Nov. 19 at 12 p.m.

SU’s Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) battle begins with Dec. 3’s matchup against Mercyhurst University and Gannon University, where the Raiders look to make a huge splash in conference play.

Shippensburg now moves to 1–3 on the year and looks to make waves throughout the remainder of the season with high hopes to send several Raiders to the NCAA Division II National Championships on March 10-11, 2017, in Birmingham, Alabama.

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