Broncs drop home opener to Michigan

By Logan VanDine

After three matches to begin the season on the road, Rider wrestling had their first home match of the season on Nov. 19 as they hosted a tough opponent, number sixth ranked Michigan.

Despite some impressive bout wins by some of their veteran wrestlers, the Wolverines proved to be too much for the Broncs, falling 27-14.

Rider knew they had their hands full going up against a team like Michigan, the Wolverines jumping out to a quick 5-0 lead as senior McKenzie Bell fell in the first bout of the afternoon by a technical fall. 

But in the second bout for Rider, redshirt senior Quinn Kinner continued his impressive start of the season as he moved to 3-0 to start the young season with a win by decision, 5-3.

“I have a lot of great people around me. Family, teammates, and coaches always give me confidence and help me be the best I can be every day which has been huge for me to let go mentally and just have fun doing what I love,” said Kinner.

However, that would be the lone bright spot for the Broncs as the Wolverines showed why they were the sixth-ranked team in the nation, winning seven out of the 10 bouts and sinking Rider to 1-2 on the season.

“My message to the whole team was that you realized halfway through the match that you were capable of winning those matches, you have to start the match in that manner. You have to start thinking like that every day,,” Head Coach John Hangey said.

Kinner also spoke about how he thought his team competed against Michigan.

“I was proud of the way the guys competed today, the team wrestled hard and competed well, but we need to have an expectation coming into that match that we’re going to win,” he said. “ Changing that mindset and expecting to win those will go a long way for this team to start getting those wins over some of the top guys that were right there with.”

Besides Kinner’s bout win, the other wins Rider had on the afternoon were senior Tyler Klinsky winning by a technical fall, 26-9 as well as graduate student Richie Koehler winning by a forfeit towards the end of the match.

The Broncs will now prepare for the Cliff Keen Individual which will take place in Las Vegas on Dec. 1-2.