Eureka Men and Women Both Defeat Fontbonne
ST. LOUIS, MO. – On Sunday, the Eureka wrestling team travelled to St. Louis to take on Fontbonne.
On the men's side, the Red Devils defeated the Griffins 29-23. Trevor Hedges (Canton, Ill./Canton) won by fall in 0:29 to bring the score even before Gaige Owens (Marion, Ill./Marion) won by forfeit to give Eureka a 12-6 advantage. After going down 23-12, Alex Muhammad (Palos Heights, Ill./Shepard) brought EC back within striking distance, defeating Fontbonne's Stephen Bell by decision. The Red Devils would bring home the victory as Thomas Culp (Quincy, Ill. / Quincy) and Jackson Creasy (Lake of the Ozarks, Mo./Osage) each won by forfeit.
Coach Biehl commented: "We were missing some of our lineup on the men's team this weekend, but we still went out and managed to sneak away with the win. We're not where we want to be, but we are on the right track."
The Eureka women's team also brought home a victory against the Griffins on Sunday afternoon, defeating the hosts 35-4.
Natallie Tobuk (Nome, Alaska/Nome-Beltz) started the Red Devils off on the right foot, taking Fontbonne's Jasmine Gordon down in 2:24. Mckenzie Cook (Homer, Alaska) added to the strong start, also winning by fall in 1:43. Jaylah Dalton (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) won by forfeit to extend the lead to 15-0. Eureka freshman Madison Farris (Chatsworth,Ill./Rifle) took down Liberty McKenzie in 1:10. Audrey Driskell (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) won by decision, and Gada Bryant (Westville, Ill. / Westville) won by forfeit. Kyley Bair (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) won by decision over Anastasia Georges and Claire Schaffner (Delavan, Ill./Delavan) won by forfeit.
"The women's team looked great," Coach Biehl said. "They went out there and battled super tough. We bumped some of the athletes up weights and it paid off. I'm very proud of how far they have come. They now have a winning record and are still undefeated in the SLIAC."
With Sunday's victories, the Red Devil men move to 3-1 on the season, 2-0 against SLIAC opponents, and the women move to 6-5, 4-0 in the SLIAC. Next up, the Eureka wrestling teams will be hosting Lyon College on Saturday, January 27th, starting at 11 am CST.