GREENWOOD – The Lander wrestling team earned a sweep in the program's first-ever home tri-meet, knocking off King 30-12 and beating Emmanuel 32-10 in front of 233 fans at Finis Horne Arena.

Lander (4-5) earned its first back-to-back wins in program history with the victories over King (3-5) and Emmanuel (2-14). 

"When you've got a lot of freshmen, all you're looking for was effort," said head coach RC LaHaye. "The effort was there tonight."

In the first dual of the night against the Tornado, Lander ripped off 27 consecutive points to seize control. A major decision from William Olivas at 133, followed by a hard-fought 6-2 decision from Elijah Gray at 141, gave Lander a 7-6 lead. After a forfeit at 149, Bryson Ethington dominated 157 with a 17-2 tech fall. Angel Hernandez claimed an 11-8 decision at 165 and Brice Harkness kept the run going with a sudden-death 4-2 decision at 174. Ryan Humel kept the momentum with the Bearcats, claiming a 6-4 decision at 185 and Cameron Coffman ended the dual with a Bearcat victory, grinding out a 4-2 decision at 285. 

Against the Lions, at tech fall from Olivas and a pin from Gray helped Lander erase a 4-0 deficit and move in front, 11-4. Ethington answered a Lion decision with an 11-3 major decision and Hernandez battled to a 6-2 decision to make the score 18-7 Bearcats. Emmanuel threatened with another decision, but the Bearcats closed strong with a 13-8 decision by Humel, a 23-6 tech fall from Darius Parker, and a Cameron Coffman pin. 

Lander returns to action Wednesday, February 5, with a home dual against UNC Pembroke at 7:00 p.m. 

#cLawsUp | @LanderWrestling