Behrend Wrestling made its long-awaited return in the Clarion Open wrestling tournament this past Sunday. The Lions competed against Division I and II teams in their first match since 1978. While the team did not have a ton of success, they certainly offered hope for the future of the program.

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Jake Paulson, Brandon Miller, and Zachary Ishman obtained their first wins of the season, with two coming by decision and one actually coming by forfeiture. After a first round pin, Paulson defeated Aiden Matthews by a score of 3-1, before being eliminated in his following match. Miller also gained his win in the consolation bracket, this time by a score of 9-5 against Edinboro’s Michael Resignalo. Ishman won his first ever Behrend match by forfeiture before losing twice and being eliminated. These three victories were the only ones the day for the Behrend Lions, as they seemingly had a rough time making their long-anticipated comeback. Still, give these guys credit for getting out on the mat and competing against some of the best wrestlers in the country.

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There were a few other members of the Behrend team that competed well and were involved in fairly close matches, despite picking not picking up any victories. Jacob Lenhardt suffered a two-point loss in his consolation match to Pittsburgh’s Cole Rickert. Jake Ognibene went toe-to-toe with Clarion’s Avery Shay for over six minutes before being pinned. Nate Conti suffered two pins, but lasted a combined eight minutes in his two matches.

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Some of Behrend’s wrestlers had not competed for two to three years before this tournament, so for them to take such a risk and be a part of the rejuvenation of a program that has spent almost 40 years in the dark speaks to their tenacity and willingness to make this program a success. The team will compete in their first home match next week on November 15 at 8 p.m., right after basketball has their home opener. They will also compete at the Washington & Jefferson Invite this Saturday.