Buena Vista, VA — Debuting their new black uniforms, the Southern Virginia University men's wrestling team secured their first ODAC dual win of the season in dominant fashion, defeating Shenandoah 35–17 behind clutch performances in the final bouts.

The Knights struck first at 125 lbs, with Maddox Heck earning a forfeit to give the Knights an early 6–0 lead.

At 133 lbs, Jayton Wellington battled through a physical match. After falling behind 3–0 in the first period, Wellington chose neutral to begin the second and immediately responded with a takedown and four nearfall points. He entered the third period up 7–3, escaped quickly from bottom, and held strong through late stalling and penalty points to claim a 9–5 decision, extending the Knights' lead to 9–0.

At 141 lbs, Porter Kinne wasted no time, finishing a clean single-leg takedown and maintaining dominant top control before securing a pin, pushing the Knights ahead 15–0.

Shenandoah battled back as 149 lbs saw Corbin Mecham surrender a takedown before being pinned, cutting the lead to 15–6. The Hornets kept the momentum at 157 lbs, where Kyler North gave up an early double-leg takedown and was eventually pinned, narrowing the gap to 15–12 at the halfway mark.

Shenandoah briefly took the lead at 165 lbs, as Wyatt Kinne was caught in a hip toss and pinned, giving the Hornets an 18–15 advantage.

But the Knights answered immediately.

At 174 lbs, Tanner Giatras delivered one of the night's most composed performances. He opened with a clean single-leg takedown and continued to push the pace, earning stall points and multiple takedowns to build a 7–1 lead after two periods. Despite a late scramble that tightened the score, Giatras shut the door with a reversal and four-point nearfall to claim a 14–6 major decision, swinging the dual back in SVU's favor 19–17.

At 184 lbs, Harrison Hoopes fought through an intense back-and-forth match. After falling behind early, he battled to a 10–7 lead after the first period thanks to strong nearfall work. Shenandoah tied the match 10–10 in the second, but Hoopes escaped and later added key points off a late reversal to enter the third ahead 15–10. In the final seconds, Hoopes secured a clutch takedown and four-count, earning a dramatic decision victory and pushing SVU ahead 23–17 with two bouts remaining.

At 197 lbs, newcomer Tradyn Henderson, fresh off an all-conference football season, electrified the crowd in his Knights wrestling debut. Henderson wasted no time, earning a first-period pin in under 30 seconds to clinch the dual for Southern Virginia, extending the lead to 29–17.

At 285 lbs, Marc Richardson closed the night emphatically, overpowering his opponent with a single-leg takedown into a high-impact slam before finishing the match with a pin, sealing the Knights' commanding 35–17 victory.

The Knights take a love reprieve from action before coming back from break to travel to the nearby Jim Crytzer Invitational hosted by Washington and Lee University, Saturday January 3rd at 9:00 AM

For the most up-to-date information on Southern Virginia University wrestling, visit knightathletics.com and follow @knight_wrestling on Instagram.