Competing against some of the best wrestlers in the country can prove to be advantageous in the long run. In the case of the Blue Streaks, such results would hope to come into fruition down the road.

Just not yet.

The John Carroll University wrestling team fell to the No. 10-ranked (NWCA) University of Mount Union Purple Raiders, 29-12, on Wednesday night at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center in University Heights, Ohio.

Mount Union advances to 10-1 on the season, and 4-0 against Ohio Athletic Conference foes. The Blue Streaks fall to a 5-6 overall record, and 0-4 OAC mark.

For the second consecutive home meet, John Carroll got great performances from the two wrestlers with the first name of Jarrod and Jarrad. Different spellings, same pronunciation.

Freshman Jarrod Brezovec took the lid off of the DeCarlo Center at 141 lbs., upsetting the No. 8 ranked wrestler in the nation, Alec Cotton, by an 11-4 decision. Brezovec trailed early, 4-0, but responded with 11 unanswered points.
 

Junior Jarrad Lasko kept the pace for JCU, topping Luke Hernandez of UMU by an 8-4 decision. The match was tied 4-4 heading into the final 20 seconds when Lasko got the best of a late flurry and got a takedown plus back points as time expired.

The Blue Streaks had dropped the first two matches, but with Lasko and Brezovec each winning by decision, the team score was 8-6 in favor of the Purple Raiders through the first four weight classes.

After that, it was all Mount Union save one match. A pin at 158, and close decisions at 165, 174 and 184 all went the way of the Purple Raiders as they took an insurmountable 23-6 lead with two bouts remaining on the card.

Junior Russ Porter gave the DeCarlo Center one last thrill when he turned a near take down by his opponent into a pin for the JCU cause as he secured his second OAC win of the season, topping Grant Martin of UMU with a first period fall at 197 pounds.

The Blue Streaks opted to forfeit the match at heavyweight to complete the scoring.

Up next, the Blue Streaks, as well as the Purple Raiders, will travel to Wheaton, Ill. to compete in the Pete Willson Wheaton Invitational. The two-day tournament begins on Friday, Jan. 26, at 11:00 a.m. (CST)

Results:
125: Nick Mancini (UMU) def. Dom Devine (JCU) by tech. fall, 17-0
133: Nolan Wachna (UMU) def. Mitch Tikkanen (JCU) by decision, 7-2
141: Jarrod Brezovec (JCU) def. Alec Cotton (UMU) by decision, 11-4
149: Jarrad Lasko (JCU) def. Luke Hernandez (UMU) by decision, 8-4
157: Michael McIntire (UMU) def. Austin Victor (JCU) by fall, 2:37
165: Jesse Gross (UMU) def. Vittorio Santillo (JCU) by decision, 5-3
174: Jairod James (UMU) def. Blake Dixon (JCU) by decision, 7-5
184: Isaiah Watson-Kirksey (UMU) def.  Jimmy Suhayda (JCU) by decision, 11-4
197: Russ Porter (JCU) def. Grant Martin (UMU) by fall, 1:47
285: Cody Carr (UMU) win by forfeit