EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Clarion wrestling team split their Friday night tri-match with Michigan State and Eastern Michigan, falling by a 22-15 score to the Spartans but rallying for an 18-12 win over the Eagles at Jenison Field House.  The Golden Eagles (10-6) will close out the regular season on Sunday afternoon when they take part in one final road dual, this one against West Virginia.
 
The Golden Eagles came tantalizingly close to a win over host Michigan State, winning five total bouts but ultimately falling due to the Spartans' ability to notch bonus points.  They made up for it in the nightcap, though, handling the Eagles with six team wins.  Brock Zacherl, Taylor Ortz, Dom Rigous and Dustin Conti each went 2-0 on the afternoon.
 
The win against EMU started with a winning effort from Gavin Park, who eked out an 8-6 decision over Tomas Gutierrez to get things rolling in the 125-pound bout.  Zacherl claimed the win at 141 pounds in what would be the first of a couple comeback wins for Clarion, rallying from a 4-1 deficit to eventually take a 7-5 lead after two periods.  He tacked on two more points against Sa'Derian Perry in the third period to take the 9-5 decision.
 
That paled in comparison to the rally job pulled by Ortz in the 149-pound bout, though.  Kyle Springer had a commanding lead after two periods, going ahead 15-6 after five minutes of action.  Ortz ran wild in the third period, though, working Springer for 16 points and allowing just two himself to claim a 22-17 decision that turned out to be key.  Mac Tanner followed that up with a 5-4 decision at 157 pounds, and Rigous earned his second win of the day with a 12-9 decision over Andrew McNally.  Conti clinched the team win, beating Derek Hillman 9-5 to put the result out of reach for the Eagles.
 
In the early match against the Spartans, Michigan State took an 8-0 lead through two bouts before Zacherl stopped the bleeding with a win over Javier Gasca.  Ortz added one as well to cut the lead to just two points.  Max Wohlabaugh halted a long losing skid with a 3-1 decision over Austin Hiles, cutting the Spartans' advantage to 13-9, and Rigous won a tight bout with Logan Ritchie to make it a one-point team match.  Conti's 3-2 decision over Nick May pulled Clarion within one point of Michigan State, but the Spartans closed the day with a win by fall at heavyweight to seal the win.
 
Michigan State 22, Clarion 15     
125: RayVon Foley (Michigan State) over Gavin Park (Clarion) TF 24-8
133: Logan Griffin (Michigan State) over Roshaun Cooley (Clarion) Dec 3-1
141: Brock Zacherl (Clarion) over Javier Gasca III (Michigan State) Dec 6-3
149: Taylor Ortz (Clarion) over Jwan Britton (Michigan State) Dec 6-4
157: Jake Tucker (Michigan State) over Mac Tanner (Clarion) TF 16-1
165: Max Wohlabaugh (Clarion) over Austin Hiles (Michigan State) Dec 3-1
174: Dominic Rigous (Clarion) over Gary (Logan) Ritchie (Michigan State) Dec 3-1
184: Shwan Shadaia (Michigan State) over Taylor Cahill (Clarion) Dec 8-3
197: Dustin Conti (Clarion) over Nick May (Michigan State) Dec 3-2
285: Christian Rebottaro (Michigan State) over Toby Cahill (Clarion) Fall 2:50
               
Clarion 18, Eastern Michigan 12
125: Gavin Park (Clarion) over Tomas Gutierrez (Eastern Michigan) Dec 8-6
133: Noah Gonser (Eastern Michigan) over Roshaun Cooley (Clarion) Dec 3-0
141: Brock Zacherl (Clarion) over Sa`Derian Perry (Eastern Michigan) Dec 9-5
149: Taylor Ortz (Clarion) over Kyle Springer (Eastern Michigan) Dec 22-17
157: Mac Tanner (Clarion) over James Wolfe (Eastern Michigan) Dec 5-4
165: Zachary Carson (Eastern Michigan) over Max Wohlabaugh (Clarion) Dec 5-2
174: Dominic Rigous (Clarion) over Andrew McNally (Eastern Michigan) Dec 12-9
184: Kayne MacCallum (Eastern Michigan) over Taylor Cahill (Clarion) Dec 6-1
197: Dustin Conti (Clarion) over Derek Hillman (Eastern Michigan) Dec 9-5
285: Gage Hutchison (Eastern Michigan) over Toby Cahill (Clarion) Dec 10-3