John Carroll kicked off its season by wrestling two other Cleveland schools in the Cleveland Clash at Cleveland State University Friday night.  Along with the Blue Streaks and host Vikings, the Spartans of Case Western Reserve were also in attendance.

The Blue Streaks would split the two matches, beating Case Western Reserve by a 35-10 score and losing to Cleveland State 27-14.  Those 14 points were the highest total points in a match against the Vikings since 2008.

Andrew Perelka almost started the night off with an upset.  Trailing by only one point at 3-2, he shot with the last ten seconds and looked as if he was going to be able to get the two-point takedown, but time ran out before he could score against Viking Cameron Lathem.

John Carroll would strike a couple of matches later against Cleveland State when freshman Patrick McGraw won his first collegiate match with a 6-3 victory against Sam Matzek.

Jarrod Brezovec added a huge five points to his team by beating Mike Santillo by a score of 16-1.  On the mat right next to him, Luke Reicosky was tied 5-5 with Riley Smucker before he picked him up and slammed him to the mat for a two-point takedown.  Reicosky wasn't done, as he got four back points to secure the 11-7 victory and add three more points to the Blue Streaks cause.

Aidan Whitis was the fourth and final Blue Streak to beat a Viking, winning a thrilling grudge match against Dimitri Williams 9-5, to bring the score to the 27-14 final.

After the match Whitis said that "I feel nervous going into most of my matches but after getting that early throw against Case for the pin that helped me get settled."  Also in the Cleveland State match he felt that "after I got those last to turns there I had confidence that I was going to win and the first 10 seconds after the match I was so happy, but then the fatigue set in."

Danny Novak kicked off the scoring against Case Western Reserve by getting a tech fall victory, shutting out Jack Chipps, 18-0.

Aidan Whitis added six points to the Blue Streaks by pinning Stephan Andrye in just 14 seconds.  Also, Andrew Perelka would not go winless on the night, beating Adam Kates 16-3 to secure four points for his team.

Josh Stasek and Stefan Farian both contributed to the Blue Streaks victory over the Spartans.  Stasek pinned his opponent in the second period and Farian achieved a tech fall to add a combination of 11 points to the Blue Streaks lead.

Jeff Brichford would defeat his only opponent of the night, Alec Hoover, right after Farian got his victory.  Brichford won 5-3, increasing the already large lead.

Christian Hipsher put the cherry on top when he pinned Joey Shulik in the final match of the night between JCU and CWRU.  That pin brought the final to 35-10, the Blue Streaks largest margin of victory against the Spartans since 2014.

Coach Mark Hawald said after the matches that "beating Case Western was a good result, but what I liked was the way we were able to wrestle with Cleveland State."  Also, "It really helps the guys to see that what we've been teaching them will work against better competition."

Cleveland State 27, John Carroll 14
125: Cameron Lathem (CSU) over Andrew Perelka (JCU) - 3-2 dec.
149: Patrick McGraw (JCU) over Sam Matzek (CSU) – 6-4 dec.
174: Chase Archangelo (CSU) over Vittorio Santillo (JCU) - 22-8 MD
285: John Kelbly (CSU) over Josh Stasek (JCU) – Fall 3:26
141: Jarrod Brezovec (JCU) over Mike Santillo (CSU) - 16-1 TF 7:00
165: Luke Reicosky (JCU) over Riley Smucker (CSU) – 11-7 dec.
197: Ben Smith (CSU) over Christian Hipsher (JCU) - 12-2 MD
133: Justin Patrick (CSU) over Dominic Devine (JCU) 20-5 TF
157: Brady Barnett (CSU) over Shane Ging (JCU) - 16-1 TF 4:06
184: Aidan Whitis (JCU) over Dimitri Williams (CSU) 9-5 dec.

John Carroll 35, Case Western Reserve 10
133: Jacob Frisch (CWRU) over Dominic Devine (JCU) – 19-7 MD
157: Daniel Novak (JCU) over Jack Chipps (CWRU) - 18-0 TF 4:45
184: Aidan Whitis (JCU) over Stephen Andryc (CWRU) – Fall 0:14
125: Andrew Perelka (JCU) over Adam Kates (CWRU) - 16-3 MD
149: Andrew Hoover (CWRU) over Ian McKenna (JCU) – 3-1 dec.
174: Stefan Farian (JCU) over Kyle Roberts (CWRU) - 19-4 TF 6:24
285: Josh Stasek (JCU) over Grant Robinson (CWRU) – Fall 2:17
141: Jeff Brichford (JCU) over Alec Hoover (CWRU) - 5-3 dec.
165: Isaac Collier (CWRU) over Sam Gross (JCU) – 6-2 dec.
197: Christian Hipsher (JCU) over Joey Shulik (CWRU) - Fall 2:15