*Story by Andy Riesenberg
WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Wilmington College wrestling team hosts its first dual meet since resurrecting the program to varsity status (beginning in 2018-19) as Otterbein University comes to Hermann Court at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
The Teams: Wilmington and Otterbein. The Fightin' Quakers are 0-1 in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) dual matches after falling to Heidelberg University earlier this month. The Cardinals have yet to compete in an OAC dual match, but won the Star City Classic hosted by Ferrum College last weekend.
The Coach: Justin Kihn is in his second season as Wilmington's head wrestling coach. A 2016 graduate of Heidelberg, Kihn finished fourth nationally in the 141-pound weight class and earned All-American honors as a senior. Otterbein is coached by Brent Rastetter who enters his fourth season with the program. In his time there, the Cardinals have posted 27 duel wins and are most notable for three-time All-OAC player and Drew Kasper, the program's first national qualifier and All-American, taking fifth place in 2019 in the heavyweight class.
The Players: Wilmington will be hosting eight individuals to wrestle in 10 different weight classes - Zack Gutknecht (125-pound), Adrian Salomone (141-pound), Chris Beltre (149-pound)
157-Clayton Schirmer (157-pound), Patrick Kelley/Jaymon Flaugher (165-pound), Patrick Kelley/Jaymon Flaugher (174-pound), Bruno Pattison(197-pound) and Seth Jermer (285-pound).
Coverage: Live video for the contest will be available - visit the link above.
Up Next: The Fightin' Quakers compete in Berea, Ohio this Saturday for the Baldwin Wallace Invitational starting at 10 a.m.
