ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst University men's wrestling team dropped the annual Battle of the Birds dual meet to North Central, 32-17, on Thursday (Jan. 16) evening inside R.A. Faganel Hall.

The Cardinals built an early lead thanks to consecutive forfeits and a series of bonus-point victories, while Elmhurst showed resilience with key wins in several individual bouts.

The match began at 125 pounds, where Donovin Fields put Elmhurst on the board with a high-scoring 17-13 decision over Cameron Phillips. However, North Central seized momentum with back-to-back forfeits at 133 and 141 pounds, giving them a 12-3 lead. Tyler Starr delivered a pivotal pin at 149 pounds, defeating Erwin Morales in 6:48 to extend the Cardinals' lead to 18-3.

Elmhurst battled back in the middleweights, as Rhenzo Augusto scored a dominant 16-3 major decision over Nolan Flores at 157 pounds, followed by Mataeo Blessing's impressive 10-1 major decision at 165 pounds against Daniel Ward, narrowing the score to 18-11. North Central responded at 174 pounds, where Parr Thomas Schoolman earned an 8-0 major decision over Max Comas, increasing the Cardinals' advantage to 22-11.

Payton Geigner's pin over Connor Kelly in 4:25 at 184 pounds and Elijah Brockie's 10-0 major decision at 197 pounds effectively sealed the victory for North Central, pushing their lead to 32-11. David Ortiz closed the dual meet in dramatic fashion for Elmhurst, pinning Aidan Trujillo in just 1:39 at heavyweight to bring the final score to 32-17 in favor of North Central.

FULL RESULTS

Weight	Matchup	Score
125	Donovin Fields (ELM) over Cameron Phillips (NC) (Dec 17-13)	ELM 3, NCC 0
133	Ethan Spacht (NC) over (ELM) (For.)	ELM 3, NCC 6
141	Raymond Cavey (NC) over (ELM) (For.)	ELM 3, NCC 12
149	Tyler Starr (NC) over Erwin Morales (ELM) (Fall 6:48)	ELM 3, NCC 18
157	Rhenzo Augusto (ELM) over Nolan Flores (NC) (MD 16-3)	ELM 7, NCC 18
165	Mataeo Blessing (ELM) over Daniel Ward (NC) (MD 10-1)	ELM 11, NCC 18
174	Parr Thomas Schoolman (NC) over Max Comas (ELM) (MD 8-0)	ELM 11, NCC 22
184	Payton Geigner (NC) over Connor Kelly (ELM) (Fall 4:25)	ELM 11, NCC 28
197	Elijah Brockie (NC) over Colin O`Neill (ELM) (MD 10-0)	ELM 11, NCC 32
285	David Ortiz (ELM) over Aidan Trujillo (NC) (Fall 1:39)	ELM 17, NCC 32

UP NEXT

The Bluejays return to the mat to host the 42nd-annual Al Hanke Invitational this Saturday, January 18, at R.A. Faganel Hall beginning at 9:00 a.m.

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