LAKELAND, Fla. (December 5, 2020) – The St. Thomas University Bobcats Wrestling team traveled to Southeastern University's 'Fire Pit' for the inaugural Florida Duals tri-match between the Keiser University, fifth ranked Southeastern and St. Thomas on Saturday afternoon.
 
Mark December 5^th, 2020 on the calendar for another milestone accomplished in St. Thomas history. The wrestling team garnered their FIRST team victory in program history! On October 23, 2019 Bobcat Wrestling was announced as a varsity sport and two days short of a month into the season the team became victorious over Keiser University at the Florida Duals hosted by Southeastern University.
 
Quote from Head Coach Patacsil:
Today was a historic day for our wrestling program as we got our first win as a new team and we did it showcasing the best of Florida wrestling with Southeastern (Fla.) and Keiser (Fla.). We have a long way to go, but this is the first step in the journey to become the best!
 
Keiser Recap

• The Bobcats won the toss and decided to start with weight class 174 and have choice on the even matches.
• Rivaldo Valmy (174) gave the Bobcats a great start with a 10-5 win by decision in the opening match.
• Estaban Hoyos (184) followed with a stellar performance winning by fall 49-seconds into the third period (6:49) giving STU a 9-0 lead over KU.
• Due to an unfortunate incident, Jesus Perez (197) forfeited the match due to injury.
• Keiser would then take the 285 heavy weight match by decision to tie to overall score at nine all.
• Nick Foster (125) the captain for the Bobcats continued to shine on the mat as he won by fall for his third straight match. (Winning both by fall vs. Truett McConnell and Midway 11/25/2020) The fall decision came in the second round at 4:35.
• Osniel Carnesolta (133) would win by forfeit and gave St. Thomas six free points and a 21-9 advantage over Keiser.
• Malik Cook-Bey (141) would drop his match by decision (0-4). The Seahawks would pick up three-points, bringing the score 21-12 in favor of the Bobcats.
• Drake Campbell (149) is the second Bobcat to garner a three-match win streak as he defeated Keiser's Zertopoulis by major decision, 11-0. Campbell's win solidified the team win for the Bobcats and gave them a 25-12 lead.
• Daniel Garlin's (157) win was icing on top of the cake and put the dual away as he made a comeback victory and won the match by decision 7-3.
• Keiser's Guess would take the final match (165) on the dual over Brent Becerra winning by major decision 4-14.
• The final score has STU winning 28-16 over KU.

 
Southeastern Recap

• Southeastern won the coin toss and decided to start the match at 174 and have choice on the odd matches.
• Southeastern would go and win the dual 51-0 with five wins by fall (184, 197, 285, 141, 157), two by tech-fall (174, 133), two by major decision (125, 165), and one by decision (149).
• 174: Coleman Bryant over Rivaldo Valmy (St.Tom) (TF 21-2 5:15)
• 184: Blake Rypel over Jonathan Evans (Fall 0:42)
• 197: Mason Kump over Estaban Hoyos (Fall 0:35)
• 285: Sanford Meeks over Micke Olesco (Fall 2:18)
• 125: Isaac Crowell over Nick Foster (MD 15-3)
• 133: Xavier Williamson over Malik Cook-Bey (TF 16-0 2:12)
• 141: Jaquan English over Osniel Carnesolta (Fall 0:49
• 149: Andreus Bond over Drake Campbell (Dec 4-0)
• 157: Kyle Kirkham over Edens Valmy (Fall 4:50)
• 165: Stephen Kelle over Brent Becerra (MD 10-0)

 
St. Thomas closes out the chapter of 2020 and will return to the mat January 9, 2021 opening up at home against UNC-Pembroke in a single dual.