LOUISVILLE, Ken. – The No. 6 Ottawa University men's wrestling team lost their first two duals of the season at the NWCA National Duals, going 1-2 on the first day of the tournament.

The Braves were seeded against No. 10 Morningside in the opening round. Braden Ledford got the Braves on the board first at 133lbs following a 7-5 sudden death victory. The Mustangs took control midway through, with three straight wins from 149lbs to 165lbs.  Cameron Young-Leggett nearly took down the #7 nationally ranked wrestler at 184lbs, Hayden Wempen, coming up short 4-3 in sudden death.
 
Match #1 Champ. Round 1
Morningside defeated Ottawa 25-17

• 125 - Evan Shell (Morningside) over Benjamin Pope (Ottawa) Dec 9-3
• 133 - Braden Ledford (Ottawa) over Taylor Vasquez (Morningside) SV-1 7-5
• 141 - Austin Kolvek (Ottawa) over Nicholas Walters (Morningside) Maj 11-2
• 149 - John Diener (Morningside) over Hunter Wagner (Ottawa) Maj 12-3
• 157 - Noah Styskal (Morningside) over Brandon Kidd Jr. (Ottawa) TF 21-6
• 165 - Zander Ernst (Morningside) over Dayton Hill (Ottawa) Maj 17-5
• 174 - Jordan Lomeli (Ottawa) over Alex Vandyke (Morningside) Maj 15-5
• 184 - Hayden Wempen (Morningside) over Cameron Young-Leggett (Ottawa) TB-1 4-3
• 197 - Jesse Daniel Perez (Ottawa) over Sendeska Kalskett (Morningside) Fall 2:37
• 285 - Hunter DeJong (Morningside) over Benito Hernandez (Ottawa) Fall 3:45

 
The Braves were paired up against Cornerstone University, who previously lost to Life University in the opening round. Following another opening loss at 125lbs, the Braves ramped things up by scoring in 10 of the 12 matches. J.D. Perez pinned Cornerstone's Jacob Nelson just 30 seconds into the match at 184lbs. Austin Kolvek scored five team points with a technical fall over Devan Johnson at 141lbs.

Match #2 Cons. Round 1
Ottawa defeated Cornerstone 33-10

• 125 - Trevor Marsman (Cornerstone) over Diago Hernandez (Ottawa) Fall 4:28
• 133 - Braden Ledford (Ottawa) over Thomas Zielinksi (Cornerstone) Maj 15-3
• 141 - Austin Kolvek (Ottawa) over Devan Johnson (Cornerstone) TF 20-5
• 149 - Parker Wright (Ottawa) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
• 157 - Thade Radosa (Cornerstone) over Loyd Epperson (Ottawa) Maj 14-1
• 165 - Braden Anderson (Ottawa) over Noah Anderson (Cornerstone) Dec 6-4
• 174 - Jordan Lomeli (Ottawa) over Joe Lashuay (Cornerstone) Dec 13-6
• 184 - Jesse Daniel Perez (Ottawa) over Jacob Nelson (Cornerstone) Fall 0:30
• 197 - Max Knard (Ottawa) over Jackson Turner (Cornerstone) Dec 4-2
• 285 - Justin Darter (Ottawa) over Sterling McLaughlin (Cornerstone) TB-2 7-4

  
The Braves had one last chance to keep going in the dual elimination tournament, pitted against the team that knocked them out in the Round of 16 at last season's NWCA National Duals. Ottawa dug themselves in a hole early, down 23-4 after the 174lb bout. The Braves did the best the could from 184lbs on, but 12 team points in the last three matches was too little too late in the 23-16 loss to Reinhardt.

Match #3 Cons. Round 2
Reinhardt (GA) defeated Ottawa 23-16

• 125 - Angel Banda (Reinhardt (GA)) over Benjamin Pope (Ottawa) TF 19-3
• 133 - Jackson Bond (Reinhardt (GA)) over Braden Ledford (Ottawa) Dec 5-2
• 141 - Austin Kolvek (Ottawa) over Dawson Bates (Reinhardt (GA)) Maj 11-1
• 149 - Cole Luallen (Reinhardt (GA)) over Hunter Wagner (Ottawa) Dec 5-2
• 157 - Trevor Burdick (Reinhardt (GA)) over Brandon Kidd Jr. (Ottawa) Fall 1:51
• 165 - Matt Jenkins (Reinhardt (GA)) over Dayton Hill (Ottawa) Dec 5-2
• 174 - Cole Tenety (Reinhardt (GA)) over Jordan Lomeli (Ottawa) Dec 8-3
• 184 - Cameron Young-Leggett (Ottawa) over Sam Irwin (Reinhardt (GA)) Dec 5-3
• 197 - Jesse Daniel Perez (Ottawa) over Kyle Mcgill (Reinhardt (GA)) Fall 3:32
• 285 - Benito Hernandez (Ottawa) over Nicholas Jarvis (Reinhardt (GA)) Dec 5-2

 
 
The Braves started out on day two against Cumberlands, coming slow out of the gate. Down 18-0 after the 149lb bout, the Braves rallied to win the next six matches to come back and take the 24-18 win. JD Perez, Cameron Young-Leggett, and Justin Darter all reeled off major decisions to seal the win for OU.
 
NAIA 9-12 – Day 2
Match #1 Semifinal
Ottawa defeated Cumberlands (Ky.) 24-18

• 125 - Austin Franco (Cumberlands (Ky.)) over Diago Hernandez (Ottawa) TF 19-3
• 133 - Conner Burrus (Cumberlands (Ky.)) over Braden Ledford (Ottawa) Maj 14-3
• 141 - Bryce Nickel (Cumberlands (Ky.)) over Austin Kolvek (Ottawa) Dec 11-10
• 149 - Jace Luchau (Cumberlands (Ky.)) over Hunter Wagner (Ottawa) Fall 4:22
• 157 - Brandon Kidd Jr. (Ottawa) over James Dosado (Cumberlands (Ky.)) DQ
• 165 - Dayton Hill (Ottawa) over Dylan Preston (Cumberlands (Ky.)) Dec 3-1
• 174 - Jordan Lomeli (Ottawa) over Tj Huber (Cumberlands (Ky.)) Dec 11-7
• 184 - Jesse Daniel Perez (Ottawa) over Tobias Garrison (Cumberlands (Ky.)) Maj 16-3
• 197 - Cameron Young-Leggett (Ottawa) over CJ Figueroa-Orduno (Cumberlands (Ky.)) Maj 15-5
• 285 - Justin Darter (Ottawa) over Wylie Dunn (Cumberlands (Ky.)) Maj 10-2

 
Ottawa's next dual against Lindsey Wilson was a back and forth affair, coming down the final few matches. JD Perez capped off a 5-0 record at the tournament with a sudden victory against Nikolas Perovic that sealed the win for the Braves.

Match #2 9th Place Match
Ottawa defeated Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 19-15

• 125 - Conner Diamond (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)) over Benjamin Pope (Ottawa) Dec 6-4
• 133 - Braden Ledford (Ottawa) over Obi Smith (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)) Maj 12-4
• 141 - Adrian Ayala (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)) over Austin Kolvek (Ottawa) Dec 8-2
• 149 - Trent Johnson (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)) over Parker Wright (Ottawa) Dec 7-2
• 157 - Loyd Epperson (Ottawa) over Trevor Pogue (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)) Dec 4-1
• 165 - Braden Anderson (Ottawa) over Chris Morales (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)) Dec 4-3
• 174 - Cory Cannan (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)) over Jordan Lomeli (Ottawa) Dec 8-5
• 184 - Cameron Young-Leggett (Ottawa) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
• 197 - JD Perez (Ottawa) over Nikolas Perovic (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)) SV-1 10-4
• 285 - Carlos Figueroa (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)) over Benito Hernandez (Ottawa) Dec 6-2