HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Lander wrestling team picked up a pair of wins over Coker and Queens in a tri-meet hosted by Coker University.
Lander is now 6-2 overall and 4-0 in the SACC.
Lander took down Queens 29-18 and defeated Coker 27-15.
Starting the day against Queens, the Bearcats jumped out to an early 17-3 lead after Isham Peace earned a win by forfeit, Elijah Lusk earned a 17-1 win by tech fall and Randy Myers earned six more points for Lander after winning from an injury forfeit. Queens won by decision at the 141-weight class.
Bryson Ethington kept the points coming in for the Bearcats with a pin to make it 23-3 before Gage Bernall won by decision to increase the Bearcat lead to 26-3. The Royals would take the next two before Darius Parker won 12-5 to give Lander a 29-12 lead. Queens would close the match out with a pin to make it a 29-18 Bearcat win.
Things didn't start as quickly for Lander against Coker.
Going up against the No. 2 team in the most recent Super Region II rankings, the two sides would trade wins by decision for the first three rounds. After trailing 3-0 to Coker after the 125-weight class, Lusk earned a 10-4 win by decision to tie things up at 3-3. Coker would win by decision at the 141-weight class before Myers earned another win by injury forfeit to give Lander a 9-6 edge.
Coker would tie the match at 9-9 after another win by decision for the Cobras, this time at the 157-weight class.
Lander would get back on track after, as the Bearcats took the next four weight classes.
Bernall earned his second win of the day with a 4-1 win by decision while Jack Bond brought three more points home for the Bearcats with a 7-3 victory. The Bearcats would see 12 points added on towards the end of the match, with Ethan Lopez winning by forfeit and Parker going 2-0 on the day with a pin to make it 27-9 before Coker would close things out with a pin of its own to conclude the match at 27-15.
The Bearcats are back at Horne Arena for their next match with King University coming to Greenwood on Thursday, January 27.
#cLawsUp | @LanderWrestling
