ALBION, Mich. – The Trine University men's wrestling team finished off their slate of Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) competition with a loss to Albion College by the score of 33-9.

Despite the lopsided team score, it was often a close match, with multiple matches ending with just one point separating the combatants. The first to do so came at 125 where Karrington Cooper came up just short of his opponent with a final score of 11-10.

Tommy Miller came up with the first victory of the night for the Thunder in convincing fashion with an 11-1 major decision. At the time it cut the lead in half making the score 8-4.
The next two matches were pins for the Britons, giving the home team breathing room at 20-4 at the halfway point.

After an intermission, the Thunder came out ready for the last few matches. Philip Burney led off the next round with a dominating win by tech fall at 165, including a masterful third period. With the senior holding a lead, the Albion grappler chose to start the third down looking for a quick point, instead Burney recorded near fall points twice to secure the bonus points.

The next two matches were absolute barnburners that went against the Thunder. Ben Shaffer trailed by just one point for nearly the whole match but was unable to score the escape in the third to force extra time. Gavin Malone trailed big in his 184 match, but made a huge comeback, cutting the lead to 17-15 late in the match. He couldn't find a last takedown and fell 17-16.

The final two matches went more convincingly in favor of the home side to make the final score of 33-9.

The Thunder fall to 7-4 overall and 1-3 in MIAA duals. They finish the conference season in fourth, with The University of Olivet taking the championship and Albion finishing second. Individuals from the team will next compete this weekend at the Midstate Invitational hosted by Manchester University. The event is scheduled for Saturday, February 15.