Dragons open season at UIndy Duals

Tiffin University's men's wrestling team opens its season at the UIndy Duals.
Tiffin University's men's wrestling team opens its season at the UIndy Duals.
Posted: Jan 15, 2021

Tiffin University's 8th-ranked men's wrestling team opens its 2020-21 season at the University of Indianapolis Duals on Jan. 16.

Tiffin takes on Davenport University at 10 am followed by the 11th-ranked Greyhounds at 1 pm. Due to a Covid-19 shortened season, these are the only duals the Dragons will compete in prior to the GMAC Championships on Jan. 23.

Davenport was picked 6th in the GLVC preseason poll and are currently 0-2 after falling to 4th-ranked Lindenwood 44-0 and 23rd-ranked Maryville 42-3. Davenport's Sam Greco, who finished fifth in the program's first regional appearance last season, returns for his senior campaign.

UIndy, however, sports a 2-0 record with wins over Ouachita Baptist 28-9 and 19th-ranked Drury 26-17. The Greyhounds were picked 3rd in the GLVC and have 5 ranked grapplers. Last year's GLVC Freshman of the Year, Dawson Combest, is top ranked at #4 at 157. Jack Eiteljorge, the Super Region 3 champion at 165 a season ago, comes in at #5 at 165, while transfer Breyden Bailey is ranked #7 at 141. Both Andrew Sams (174) and Gleason Mappes (184) come in at #10 in their respective weight classes, with Sams coming off of a redshirt year after transferring from Bellarmine and Mappes returning after qualifying for Nationals as a sophomore a season ago.

Tiffin, the defending GMAC champion, is paced by 2019 national champ Nicholas Mason placing second at 197 pounds. Chris Donathan is No. 3 at 149 and Bryan LaVearn is No. 6 at 157. All three wrestlers earned NWCA All American honors last season. 

Chris Donathan won the Region Championship to earn his Nationals berth. He was 26-5 overall and led the team in takedowns with 62.

Bryan LaVearn is a three-time Regional qualifier and a First Team All GMAC pick. He led the team with a 34-12 record and 547 points.

Nicholas Mason also won the Region Championship to head to Nationals, where he anticipated defending his 197 pound National Championship from 2019. He is a two-time Nationals and three-time Regional qualifier who also earned a First Team All Conference nod. He finished 25-6 with 515 points.