Bison Win First Dual Meet in Program History

Hiram, OH. - The Bison had an action packed weekend traveling to two separate events. Their first competition was a quad meet where Bethany Women's Wrestling picked up their first dual meet victory in program history. Competition number two was the Hilltopper Open at West Liberty.

The Bison had their first ever dual meet at the Hiram Quad Meet. By coincidence, the first matchup of the night was against Hiram. The Bison handled the Terriers swiftly with a 35-15 victory, relieving all the pressure to accomplish the milestone.

The Bison made some moves to force the Terriers to forfeit weights, but the Bison still got the job done in the head to head matchups- picking up three falls to lock in Head Coach Pete DiPol's first dual meet win at Bethany College. 

Former Pennsylvania state placewinner and two-sport athlete at Bethany Adriana Gilliam was able to put the Bison in a good spot with a second period fall over her opponent. That was her first win of the season, as Gilliam was on the volleyball team during the first semester.

Trinity Barrus ceremoniously secured the Bison the team victory after her quick pin. She took her opponent from feet to flatback in just 22 seconds- a time that she would best later in the evening.

Shanielah Kirk was the final Bison to pick up a fall in match one. She collected a first period fall to grow the Bison lead even further.

Mary Tracey, Monica Bird, Jasmine Craddock, and Sophie Diaz all collected wins to aid the effort. Kasey Kophazy and Angelina Watson were also in the historic lineup that convincingly took down Hiram 35-15.

The Bison dropped the next two duals to Mount Union and Otterbein on Friday, but were able to score 20 team points in each dual.

Highlights include: Barrus's lightning fast 18 second fall against her Mount Union opponent, Watson scoring in all positions en route to a tech fall victory, and three Bison picking up their first wins in a singlet via forfeit (Monica Bird, Elizabeth Bain, and Tracey). 

A smaller squad of six wrestlers traveled to West Liberty for the Hilltopper Open. 

Craddock picked up the most wins on the day. The 145 pounder finished the event strong with two consecutive falls. 

Barrus had the fastest pin for the Bison in under a minute. She was up 8-0 in her second match before having to medical forfeit the rest of her bouts.

Bethany will bring everybody to their next event on Thursday. They will wrestle in a tri-meet against Waynesburg and Buffalo State. Wrestling is set to start at 4 p.m. 

This article was written by Assistant Director of Athletic Communications Colin Herb. If you believe that there are mistakes in information-- or have a separate thought relating to the event in the article-- please email cherb@bethanywv.edu for any corrections/comments.