Second-ranked Campbellsville University moved two steps closer to winning the first Mid-South Conference regular season wrestling championship with home wins over No. 17 University of the Cumberlands and Lindsey Wilson College on Friday night. 

CU (5-0, 3-0 MSC) started the night with its second straight Top 20 win in the NAIA with a 42-3 win over No. 17 Cumberlands and followed with a 22-12 win over rival Lindsey Wilson. Of the matches wrestled, CU lost only three in the two duels combined. The Tigers collected five pins, two major decisions and a tech fall to help build points through the night.

"I wanted to see how we'd with two-day weight this early in the season, and we didn't pretty good. We had to make our weight yesterday and today, and I thought we did well. Without going flat, we were able to keep our head and wrestle well. Yesterday we wrestled a Top 5 team and today we were a little less excited, but able to keep our head and still be aggressive and get pins. I was pleased with how they wrestled over two days this early in the year," said CU head coach Franky James.

Tiger junior Johnny Papesh set the tone for the night with an upset win at 125 pounds. The third-ranked grappler from Aurora, Ohio knocked off top-ranked Larone Madison of Cumberlands, 3-1. After trading escape points in the second and third periods, Papesh (5-1) scored a last second take down in the third round to avenge his 3-2 loss to Madison from the 2010 NAIA East Region Qualifer and improve to 6-1 against the Patritot junior.

"He's real fast and strong. I've wrestled him before, and I wanted to make sure I wasn't getting too faked out with his shots, so I had to make sure I kept moving forward on him and keep my hands on him to slow him down," Papesh said. "I finally took a shot late and got him."

James was pleased to see Papesh rebound from a loss from Thursday night with a pair of wins Friday.

"It was a big win since he dropped that match yesterday. We needed to get him back on track," James said.

First-year Patriot Jacob Gregory scored a quick take down of Tommy Pretty at 141 pounds, but the reigning 133-pound NAIA champion escaped and gained the lead with a takedown 30 seconds later, 3-2. It didn't take long for Pretty (5-0) to cradle Gregory into a pin with 15 seconds remaining in the first period (2:45). With the pin, he joins Connor Young (4-1) for the Tigers' lead of most pins (three). His only non-pin victory was by forfeit.

Matt Milton (4-0) followed Pretty's pin with one of his own for the Tigers at 149 pounds in a time of two minutes. Young, who pinned his first three opponents of the year, improved to 4-0 at 157 pounds with a 10-6 decision to stretch CU's lead to 21-0 in the match.

CU clinched its second Top 20 win of the season with pins at 165 and 174 to stretch its lead to 33-0. Freshman wrestler Quinten Brooks (2-0) made his collegiate duels debut at 165 and pinned Cumberlands freshman Kolby Twilley in a time of 4:19 in the second period. The win comes on the heels of a second-place finish for Brooks in the Patriot Open at Cumberlands on Nov. 6. David Clemons (4-1) followed Brooks' win with a pin at 174 and had another pin against Lindsey Wilson.

Campbellsville closed the night with a duel against neighboring rival Lindsey Wilson. With Gosser Gym nearly divided in half by Lindsey and Campbellsville fans, the Tigers won all but two weights wrestled with a major decision by Pretty at 141 and a pin by Clemons at 174. Brooks picked up his second win of the season in a 2-1 decision at 167 and Alsip won a 1-0 decision to remain unbeaten at 133. But the most exciting match Friday was a heavyweight marathon to close the night. Daniels scored a reversal with two seconds left in triple overtime to beat Lindsey Wilson heavy weight Teddy Furnish, 3-1.

The Tigers will travel to Bristol, Tenn., this weekend to wrestle in the King College Open on Sunday.


RESULTS
Campbellsville 42, Univ. Cumberlands 3
125 - Johnny Papesh (CU) def. Lorane (UC), Dec 3-1
133 - Tyler Alsip (CU) def. Jered Medina (UC), Dec 7-4
141 - Tommy Pretty (CU) def. Jacob Gregory (UC), Fall 2:45
149 - Matt Milton (CU) def. Derek Murdock (UC), Fall 2:00
154 - Connor Young (CU) def. Zachary Barkett (UC), Dec. 10-6
165 - Quinten Brooks (CU) def. Kolby Twilley (UC), Fall 4:19
174 - David Clemmens (CU) def. Garrett Harrison (UC), Fall 3:26
184 - Josh Ashbrook (CU) def. Kyle Stygler (UC), M. Dec. 10-2
197 - Spencer Adams (CU) def. Courtney Freeman (UC) Tech Fall 23-8 (7:00)
285 - Tyler Pace (UC) def. Chris Daniels (CU), Dec. 4-0


Campbellsville 25, Lindsey Wilson 12 
125 - Johnny Papesh (CU) def. Myron Bradbury (LWC), Dec 9-3
133 - Tyler Alsip (CU) def. Michael Lovitt (LWC), Dec. 1-0
141 - Tommy Pretty (CU) def. Josh Johnson (LWC), M. Dec. 11-0
149 - Matt Milton (CU) def. Cody Washington (LWC), Dec. 7-4
154 - Zach McCormick (LWC) def. Connor Young (CU), Dec. 11-5
165 - Quinten Brooks (CU) def. Taylor Doan (LWC), Dec. 2-1
174 - David Clemmens (CU) def. Will Vincent (LWC), Fall 5:48
184 - Andrew Hairston (LWC) win by Forfeit
197 - Jacob Bradford (LWC) def. Spencer Adams (CU), Dec. 11-4
285 - Chris Daniels (CU) def. Teddy Furnish (LWC), Dec. 3-1 (3OT)