ADRIAN, Mich. – The Trine University men's wrestling team defeated Adrian College for their first Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) dual victory of the season. The contest ended in a 20-20 tie, but the Thunder secured the victory on a tiebreaker for an official final of 21-20.

Trine took the first three matches of the dual, with two ending in bonus points building a 13-0 lead. Kaden Golder won the opening match by forfeit securing six points. Ben Edwards followed up with a 10-8 decision in the 133 match and Tommy Miller rounded out the stretch with a 15-1 major decision at 141.

The Bulldogs responded by taking the next three matches and an edge in the team score. They had a tech fall victory at 149, a pin at 157 and a decision at 165, making the score 14-13 with four matches remaining.

Those remaining matches ultimately split between the two teams. Nayl Sbay took the 174 match in a 10-4 decision, before the 184 match went to Adrian in a 17-13 decision. Julante Hinton changed the course of the match with a huge 15-4 victory at 197, earning four points for a major decision. The Bulldogs took the 285 match 6-1 for three team points that knotted the contest at 20 points all.

With the first two tiebreaking criteria equal, it came down to a comparison of match points. Hinton's 15 points gave the Thunder a 70-62 lead in the category heading into the final match, with the team trailing in the category 58-55 before that contest. After the final decision, Trine took the tiebreaker 71-68, earning the final team point and the 21-20 victory.

The Thunder improve to 3-6 overall and 1-1 in MIAA competition following the win. Members of the team will next take to the mats on Saturday, January 31 when they travel to the Wabash Invite.