Leavenworth, Kan.—Spire men's wrestling hosted the Spire Duals this Saturday, November 22^nd on campus in McGilley Field House featuring Avila University, Friends University, Missouri Valley, Morningside (Iowa), and Wayland Baptist (Tex.).The Spires fell in all three duals but battled hard opening up against Wayland Baptist (20-28), then dualled Morningside (21-26) and finished the day off battling against the #9 ranked Missouri Valley Vikings (6-35).

Wayland Baptist—WBU started off hot with Jesse Lewis winning by fall over USM's Brody Gee, however Roman De La Cruz came back for the Spires with a tech fall win over Rodriquez to put the Spires down one point at 5-6. Wayland Baptist would take the next two matches in the 141lb-weight class as well as the 149lb-weight class with Ingram and Two Lance taking the wins over Bobby Burke and Benjamin Smith, putting the Pioneers up 5-14 over USM. Junior Josey Jernegan in the 157lb-weight class had a huge day that started with a win by fall over Randolph of WBU, attempting to claw the Spires back in winning position. The rest of the dual would go back and forth from there, with 165lb match going to Pacheco with a win by decision over Lleyton Hoover. The following 174lb match would go to the Spires Michael Ager over Frank of WBU, earning three points for USM, but still trailing at 14-17. Orinn Hubbard would drop the next match to Stormer, however USM would claim the 197lb-weight class match with Gabe Chesbro winning by fall over Palomar. Chesbro's point would not be enough as Devin Lolar would fall to Bivens to seal the victory for the Pioneers.
 
Morningside—USM's second dual of the afternoon started tough as Justin Parsons with the Mustangs won by tech fall over the Spires CJ Anderson, putting MU up quick at 0-5. The next match in the 133lb-weight class would end in the favor of USM with Roman De La Cruz taking the win to put the Spires in the lead for the first time at 6-5. The next two matches would end in defeat for Saint Mary with Bobby Burke and Ben Smith losing by decision and major decision to Lorentzen and Wilt, respectively. Jernegan would continue his solid performance by again taking the win by fall over Morningside's Munoz. However, the next three matches would go in favor of the Mustangs, digging the Spires deficit further with Trever Mogren, Michael Ager, and Ben Vogt unable to overpower the Mustangs. USM would take the final two matches with Chesbro earning a 47 second fall over Wilson and Lolar winning by decision over MU's Ucelo. These two final victories would not be enough to overcome the hole the Spires had found themselves in and fell to Morningside with a final score of 21-26.
 
Missouri Valley—In the third and final match of the afternoon, USM would take on the top ranked Missouri Valley Vikings. The Spires again started with a loss in the 125lb-weight class, with Anderson falling to Caleb Parker. Saint Mary would claim the 133lb match with De La Cruz again coming in clutch, earning the Spires three points to MVC's six points. The 141lb and 149lb matches would go to the Vikings, with a loss by major decision for USM's Keith Slaughter and a loss by decision from Ryan Buccat. Josey Jernegan would again prove why he is ranked #12 in NAIA with a win by decision over #16 ranked Shelton, boosting the Spires to six points to the Viking's thirteen. This would be the final high-point of the match for Saint Mary unfortunately, as MVC would go on to win the final five matches and take the victory with a final score of 6-35.
 
Up next, USM men's wrestling will take a quick Thanksgiving break to regroup and take on the Avila University Eagles in Mabee Fieldhouse in Kansas City, Missouri on Thursday December 4^th with matches set to begin at 7:00 p.m.