CLARION, Pa. --- The Golden Eagles return to dual meet competition Wednesday night when they host the Drexel Dragons. The match will be a part of FloWrestling's Night in America series which spotlights top matchups at the collegiate and high school level.
 
The match will be a tripleheader that features a junior varsity and varsity of high schools Dubois vs Brookville starting at 4:30, then will be capped with the Clarion vs Drexel dual meet starting at 7 p.m.
 
Series History
This will be the Golden Eagles and the Dragons tenth match against each other with the previous match being held last year in Philadelphia. The Golden Eagles hold the series advantage winning six of the previous nine matches. Last year's dual meet win was the first win versus Drexel since the 2004-05 season, when they defeated the Dragons by a score of 23-16.  
 
Of the ten matches between the teams, eight have been hosted by Clarion, including five straight seasons from 2002-03 season to the 2006-07 season.
 
Previous Meeting
Clarion defeated Drexel last year by a score of 23-17, on the back of three technical falls for the Golden Eagles. The teams split the first four matches with the Dragons racing out to an early lead in the match on the back of a pair of tech falls at the 141 and 149 weight classes to give them a 10-6 advantage.
 
John Worthing gave the Golden Eagles a 16-14 lead after a technical fall of Jasiah Queen, Cam Pine followed with a tech fall of his own, and Ethan Wiant clinched the match victory and completed a comeback for Clarion with a 6-5 decision.
 
Match Preview
Both teams are searching for their first dual meet victory of the season. Clarion enters 0-2 to start the season and looking to rebound from a tough home loss to George Mason and a 18-19 defeat at American. Drexel is 0-4 to start the season and has taken losses to nationally ranked #25 North Carolina and top-ranked Penn State.
 
Wesley Barnes looks to continue his momentum from last week's Big Red Invitational where he won the "B" side of the bracket. He finished 5-0 last week with a pair of pins including a first period fall in the championship match vs Anthony Mann of Sacred Heart. His opponent is projected to be redshirt-senior Cody Walsh, who led the Dragons in individual wins last year with a 26-11 record.
 
At 197, Wiant returns to the lineup after missing the previous two dual meets. He will have a huge opportunity as he faces FloWrestling's #22 ranked wrestler Mickey O'Malley, a 3x NCAA qualifier. O'Malley did not compete in last year's match versus the Golden Eagles.
 
Gianni Silvestri has wrestled in the previous two dual meets at 141 pounds for the Golden Eagles. He has split the two previous dual meets winning a tough match at American by a 7-5 decision, and a furious comeback that fell just short against George Mason's Dom Hargrove. Drexel's 141 pounder Jordan Soriano was the only Dragon to pick up a victory in the match at Penn State with 11-8 decision over Cael Nasdeo.
 
Kyle Schickel looks to rebound from a close 8-6 decision to George Mason's Kaden Cassidy. Schickel is coming off a second-place finish at the Big Red Invitational's "A" bracket with his only loss coming to nationally ranked Ethan Fernandez of Cornell. He is projected to take on Dom Findora, who defeated Schickel last year by technical fall.  
 
Worthing continued to rise in the rankings, improving to 32^nd in his weight class according to Intermat. The redshirt senior is sitting at 5-1 on the season, and a perfect 2-0 in dual meets. He looks to continue his strong start with a match over redshirt-junior Jack Janda, who is 1-2 in dual meets on the season.