Trojans Nearly UPSET #17 William Penn University

HANNIBAL, Mo. – The Trojans battled No. 17 William Penn University Tuesday night in a 23-24 loss. Hannibal-LaGrange spotted the Statesmen 18 points after forfeiting the 125 lb., 141 lb. and 157 lb. matches.Senior Tommy Pickens (149 lb.) earned the first points for the Trojans in a 10-7 decision over Charlton Benjamin. Hannibal-LaGrange gained three points off of the decision to close the Statesmen lead to 12-3.The Trojans were forced to forfeit the next match, giving William Penn six more points. However, sophomore Bryce Alexander (165 lb.) closed the gap to 10 for the Trojans after picking up five points in a 17-2 major decision over Anthony Martinez.Sophomore Ian Taylor‘s 5-2 decision over Joe Sumner in the 174 lb. match kept things rolling for Hannibal-LaGrange. Taylor's three points for Hannibal-LaGrange made it 18-11 in favor of the Statesmen.William Penn solidified its win after Kyle Soderblom pinned sophomore Nathan Downs in the fifth minute of the 184 lb. match. Downs, who wrestled a weight class up Tuesday night, looked overmatched against the No. 12 wrestler in the 184 lb. NAIA weight class. The six points put the Statesmen up 24-11.The Trojans picked up the final 12 points of the dual to come within one point of the Statesmen. Sophomore Dan Capp (197 lb.) pinned Chris Diaz with 5:54 on the clock to pull the Trojans within seven before the Statesmen forfeited the heavyweight match to give the Trojans six more points.Hannibal-LaGrange will now travel to Des Moines, Iowa on February 18 to compete in the Central Regional Tournament.Hannibal-LaGrange University is a Division I NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) institution and a member of the American Midwest Conference.