Clarksville, Ark.-The men's wrestling team opened the 2022-2023 season in front of a large home crowd against Carl Albert State College Tuesday afternoon. 

The Eagles were narrowly defeated 22-21.  While the Eagles came up short, head coach Vinny Barber raved about the home atmosphere.

"It was great to have all the fans there," said Barber. "It was a super fun event being outside. Our campus loves wrestling. It was a really good experience for the guys to compete in their first collegiate match in this type of atmosphere. A lot of the guys are freshman and doing it out here was better than in an open held in a gym." 

The Eagles started the match strong winning five of their first six matches. Jaxson Roney opened the dual with a decision (4-3) over James Peach at 125. Jake Dado followed with a fall (4:58) win against RT Noel at 141. At 149, Jaylen York posted a decision (9-5) over Kayson Kenney. James Johnson then posted a decision (5-4) against Alec Capehart at 157. The final win (Fall 1:56) came from John Ward against Alex Foster.

"We knew some areas we might struggle in and it showed today," said Barber. "There were some areas I thought we might excel in and we didn't.  It's really up to the guys how we use this experience. But I want us to use every event moving forward as an opportunity to get better."

125-Jaxson Roney over James Peach (Dec 4-3)
133-Thaddeus Long over Shelton Chastain (MD 14-6)
141-Jake Dado over RT Noel (Fall 4:58)
149-Jaylen York over Kayson Kenney (Dec 9-5)
157-James Johnson over Alec Capehart (Dec 5-4)
165-John Ward over Alex Foster (Fall 1:56)
174-Cayden Felts over Zane Sims (Fall 4:04)
184-Josiah Rhodes over Vincent Christy (Fall 4:39)
197-Hunter Hall over Daniel Benoit (Dec 8-4)
285-Emmett Bivens over Ka`Ron Lewis (Dec 14-7)

The Eagles will travel to Chesterfield, Missouri, for the Kaufman Brand Open November 5.