The Muhlenberg men's wrestling team split two matches on the first day of the Virginia Duals, rebounding from a loss to Division II Newberry with an impressive 33-17 defeat of Marymount. 

The Mules (2-1) will face The Apprentice School in a consolation semifinal on Saturday, with the winner going on to wrestle either Liberty or Centenary (N.J.) in the consolation final.

Almost all the first-round matches pitted a Division II team against a Division III squad, and none of the Division III competitors won. Muhlenberg got an opening 7-5 decision from junior CJ Horvath at 125 and a pin from junior Nick Stump at 184 in a 37-9 setback. Senior Ryan Fairchild wrestled well at 197, taking a two-time Division II national qualifier to overtime before getting taken down.

When the Mules won the consolation bracket at last year's Virginia Duals, they defeated Marymount in the final in a 31-22 match that was in doubt until the final bout. This time the Mules left little doubt, recording four pins in a span of six bouts to pull away decisively.

Horvath again got Muhlenberg off to a good start, taking down his opponent about a minute in for all the points he would need in a 4-1 decision - his 50th career win. 

At 133, junior Jace Yannucciello opened up a 13-0 lead and went on to a 15-8 decision, giving the Mules a 6-0 lead. It was 6-5 before consecutive first-period pins by freshman Eoghan O'Hara and senior Trey Miletics gave Muhlenberg a big lead.

Marymount closed to within 18-11 with a pin at 165, but a 7-1 decision by sophomore Lucas Velando and back-to-back first-period pins by Stump (pictured above) and Fairchild put the match away. Fairchild flattened his opponent in just 35 seconds.

Box Scores
Newberry 37, Muhlenberg 9
125 CJ Horvath (M) dec. Ricky Springs, 7-5
133 Caiden Pelc (N) pinned Jace Yannucciello, 2:04
141 Cole McCullough (N) tech fall Andrew Loniewski, 3:35 (16-1)
149 Sebastian Melendez (N) maj. dec. Eoghan O'Hara, 18-9
157 Matt Hoelke (N) tech fall Trey Miletics, 3:49 (20-5)
165 Bo Perkins (N) tech fall Tyson Derenberger, 5:24 (18-1)
174 Josh Echeverria (N) pinned Lucas Velando, 4:14
184 Nick Stump (M) pinned Hayven Jenkins, 3:50
197 John Parker (N) dec. Ryan Fairchild, 6-3 (sv)
285 Rylan Madison (N) dec. Hayk Grigorian, 9-3

Muhlenberg 33, Marymount 17
125 CJ Horvath (Mu) dec. Ian Morales, 4-1
133 Jace Yannucciello (Mu) dec. Maximillian Connell, 15-8
141 Temuujin Erdenetuya (Ma) tech fall David Rosenfarb, 7:00 (20-5)
149 Eoghan O'Hara (Mu) pinned Adam Razzaq, 1:20
157 Trey Miletics (Mu) pinned Jackson Fulcher, 2:42
165 Tallion Elliott (Ma) pinned Tyson Derenberger, 1:40
174 Lucas Velando (Mu) dec. Ian Harris, 7-1
184 Nick Stump (Mu) pinned Dennis Meza Velasquez, 2:36
197 Ryan Fairchild (Mu) pinned Cody Freer, 0:35
285 Basheer Hadi (Ma) pinned Hayk Grigorian, 2:36