This past weekend, Wrestling battled through two wire-to-wire duals to secure a 1-1 split against Lehigh (16-21 L) and American (22-21 W).
The Mountain Hawks entered their matchup with a seven-game win streak, while the Eagles were looking to build on a dominant win against Morgan State. Facing their rival No 22. Lehigh, the Orange and Blue found themselves in a familiar winner-take-all scenario. The dual match saw repeated lead changes, with neither side able to pull away as they matched each other point-for-point.
Bryce Manera ’29 began the scoring for the Bison with an injury-default defeat to make the score 6-5 Bucknell. Lehigh matched the attack, but Braden Bower ’26 followed with a dominant win to make the score 9-8. The Bison kept the pressure on over the next five bouts, picking up crucial wins from Myles Takats ’27 and Dillon Bechtold ’28.
However, Lehigh managed to claim the other three matchups, holding an 18-16 lead as the dual-match headed into a winner-take-all final battle. Despite the strong effort, the Bison fell in the final battle, marking a 21-16 loss to Lehigh.
Against American, the Bison trailed early as the Eagles went on a 15-0 scoring run. Riley Bower ’26 put the Orange and Blue on the board with a victory over his opponent to make the score 15-3. Following the win, Cade Wirnsberger ’27 added to the momentum with a crucial takedown to bring the total to 15-6. Noah Mulvaney ’27 continued the attack with two takedowns and a pin over his opponent, dwindling the Eagles’ lead to just three points.
Takats gave the Bison its first lead of the match with a dominant showing over his competitor, marking a 17-15 Bucknell lead. Bechtold found a crucial victory and countered a quick American score to give the Bison a 22-18 edge entering the final bout.
Despite losing the final battle, Lucas Lawler ’29 showed immense grit with a takedown over his opponent to prevent a dual-major losing decision. The Bison secured the win over the Eagles 22-21.
The Bison go up against Columbia next in New York on Feb. 22.
