PLYMOUTH, Wis. – Diego Morales (Jr.-Cedar Grove, Wis.) came through with a pin in the last seconds of the final match and the Lakeland University men's wrestling team earned a dramatic 22-21 dual victory over Milwaukee School of Engineering Thursday night at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.

Morales pinned MSOE's Jake Schmitt with just 21 seconds left in their match at 285 pounds, giving the Muskies six points for the come-from-behind victory. Lakeland defeated MSOE for the first time since 2022 and improved to 2-0 in duals this season while the Raiders took their first loss, dropping to 3-1 in duals.

With the visiting Engineers entering the last of 10 matches with a 21-16 lead, Morales and Schmitt were locked in a stalemate for almost the entirety of their match. Morales earned the lone point in the second period when Schmitt was docked one point for stalling, and the two were still locked up as the third period was winding down.

Morales was under Schmitt when with 36 seconds left he suddenly reversed leverage to get his left arm and shoulder on top of Schmitt and get his opponent on his back. Schmitt tried to escape but was held down and the Lakeland bench stirred into a frenzy, then erupted when the pin was called at 6:39 of the match.

The win capped a night that had plenty of heroes in the team win in victory and defeat. The Muskies won five of 10 matches in a dual where three matches were decided by decisions, four more by major decisions and just two matches saw winners by fall. Every point was valuable, and an extra point earned or saved in numerous matches contributed to the win.

Jesse Burg (Jr.-Cedar Grove, Wis.) picked up an 11-2 win over MSOE's Ben Messier at 157 lbs., earning three points late in the match with a takedown to earn the major decision. Evan Haferkorn (Jr.-Norway, Mich.) also took a 2-1 decision over Diego Snell-Martinez at 165 lbs. in a match that included a single escape by each wrestler and was decided by riding time, a win that gave Lakeland a 16-8 lead in the match until the Raiders won the next three matches to retake the lead.

Rigoberto Tellez (Fr.-Oostburg, Wis.) also added a victory at 133 lbs., defeating Alexander Ramirez with a big rally after falling behind early. Ramirez used a pair of takedowns to take a 6-1 lead in the first period, but Tellez came back with a reversal and a pair of takedowns to go ahead, then finished it off in the final period for the win.

Will Ohman (So.-Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.) was defeated by MSOE's Toren Vandenbush 6-1 at 174 lbs., but Ohman also was able to keep the match close after a takedown in the first period, staying with Vandenbush, who was the champion in the weight class at the MSOE Invite this past weekend.

Lakeland is off this weekend but travels to Tennessee for the Gator 'Boots' Duals next Saturday, Dec. 20. The event is held at McGavock High School in Nashville, Tenn.

Lakeland 22 MSOE 21                                                                                            MSOE    LU
125: Lane Andersen (MSOE) over Caleb Hillshafer (LU) (Major Dec. 10-0)              4           0
133: Rigo Tellez (LU) over Alexander Ramirez (MSOE) (Dec. 12-8)                          4          3
141: Jacob Hillshafer (LU) wins by forfeit                                                                   4          9
149: Liam Anderson (MSOE) over Carson Smith (LU) (Major Dec. 17-8)                  8          9
157: Jesse Burg (LU) over Ben Messier (MSOE) (Major Dec. 11-2)                          8         13
165: Evan Haferkorn (LU) over Diego Snell-Martinez (MSOE) (Dec. 2-1)                 8         16
174: Toren Vandenbush (MSOE) over Will Ohman (LU) (Dec. 6-1)                          11        16
184: Jackson Hughes (MSOE) over Breyson Kelley (LU) (Major Dec. 12-4)            15        16
197: Gavin Graham (MSOE) over Evan Saevre (LU) (Fall 2:56)                               21        16
285: Diego Morales (LU) over Jake Schmitt (MSOE) (Fall 6:39)                               21        22