LAKELAND, Fla.—Riding a three-match win streak, the fifth-ranked Southeastern University wrestling team will have an opportunity to make a case for an even higher ranking.
Sunday, the Fire will face No. 3 Reinhardt, No. 4 Lindsey Wilson, and Truett-McConnell which is receiving votes in the coaches' poll.
This will be the second meeting between SEU and Reinhardt this season as the Eagles came away with a 24-19 win on November 21
st during the Fire Duals. Bonus points were the difference in the match as both sides won five matches. Reinhardt scored 12 bonus points against four for the Fire.
"They beat us in a couple of key positions and the bonus points cost us," said coach
Brandon Jorge. "We might see some new faces out there to give them a look and at the end of the day, the toughest guy is going to win."
Nolan Saxton is the top-ranked 157-pounder; the last time the two squads faced off, Saxton bumped up to 165 and scored a major decision. At 197, Antonio Stewart is ranked second.
Southeastern and Lindsey Wilson have had some great matchups in the past with the Blue Raiders winning the first four matchups and the Fire winning the most recent back in January of 2019 at the NWCA National Duals.
Two-time defending heavyweight national champion Brandon Reed headlines the LWC lineup. There's a potential Top Four showdown as the Fire have the fourth-ranked wrestler at 285 in
Alton Meeks. The 149-pound match could be one to watch as well with No. 3 Trent Johnson potentially facing 3-0 and No. 14
Andreus Bond who is no stranger to facing and defeating highly ranked competitors.
Southeastern has won both of its prior meetings with Truett-McConnell and came in the 2016 calendar year. The Fire were a 36-18 winner over the Bears at Life during its first season of competition, then won 48-6 in December of 2016.
"These matches always come down to who is going to be more disciplined and who is going to be a little tougher," said Jorge. "We need to be able to go out against anybody in the nation and score points, score fast, and score on top because that's what wins matches."
Tomorrow's matches will begin at 1 p.m. with the Fire facing Lidsey Wilson first, then Reinhardt at 2:30 p.m. The match against Truett-McConnell is scheduled to start at 4 p.m.
Video streaming will be provided by Reinhardt for $4.95.
