HAMPTON, Va. — Averett University men's wrestling finished fifth in the Virginia Duals on Saturday night. The Cougars defeated Johns Hopkins University 27-12 and bested Liberty University 28-18.

Sophomores Jesse Alvarado and Khalil Mitchell put on a show. In the 157-pound weigh class, Alvarado put up a technical fall and a pin on the board for the Cougars, scoring 11 points for his team. Mitchell had two major decisions, earning the Cougars eight total points at 184 pounds.

At 125 pounds, sophomore Mason Barrett carried momentum from his last victory into his match against Johns Hopkins University, pinning Dhilan Patel inside the first minute of the match.

Junior Olli Karjalainen took another win by fall after defeating Alex Tinana in the 141-pound weight class. Karjalainen currently has the second-most overall pins for the Cougars with seven total.

Redshirt senior Billy Baldwin won by a 5-3 decision against John Libby at 197 pounds.

In the heavyweight division, junior Jamar Christian had a strong performance against Jake Pomykata, only allowing his opponent one point in a 10-1 major decision win.

Barrett took another win for the Cougars when they faced Liberty University in a 2-1 decision in a tiebreaker against Dante Minnino.

Senior Hai Siu defeated Charles Hudson in a 10-2 major decision in the 149-pound weight class to allow Averett to take a 7-6 lead.

In the 165-pound weight class, sophomore Anthony Taylor had his way with Connor McCann, defeating him by a 22-7 technical fall.

The Cougars are back in action on Jan. 19 when they travel to face Ferrum College at 7 p.m.

Averett 27, Johns Hopkins 12
125 Mason Barrett (Averett) def. Dhilan Patel (John Hopkins) (Fall 1:10)
133 Brent Lorin (John Hopkins) def. Daniel Porter (Averett) (Dec 10-6)
141 Olli Karjalainen (Averett) def. Alex Tinana (John Hopkins) (Fall 1:49)
149 Connor Powell (John Hopkins) def. Hai Siu (Averett) (Dec 3-2)
157 Jesse Alvarado (Averett) def. Fritz Maurath (John Hopkins) (TF 18-0)
165 Jake Hoffmann (John Hopkins) def. Nate Mallery (Averett) (Dec 8-4)
174 Joe Paul (John Hopkins) def. Alex Turley (Averett) (Dec 4-3)
184 Khalil Mitchell (Averett) def. Colin Vallis (John Hopkins) (MD 17-5)
197 Billy Baldwin (Averett) def. John Libby (John Hopkins) (Dec 5-3)
285 Jamar Christian (Averett) def. Jake Pomykata (John Hopkins) (MD 10-1)

Averett 28, Liberty 18
125 Mason Barrett (Averett) def. Dante Minnino (Liberty University) (TB-1 2-1)    
133 Blake Schmitt (Liberty University) def. Daniel Porter (Averett) (Dec 7-3)    
141 Grant Brammer (Liberty University) def. Olli Karjalainen (Averett) (SV-1 4-2)    
149 Hai Siu (Averett) def. Charles Hudson (Liberty University) (MD 10-2)
157 Jesse Alvarado (Averett) def. Ian McIlhenny (Liberty University) (Fall 6:39)
165 Anthony Taylor (Averett) over Connor McCann (Liberty University) (TF 22-7)
174 Alex Turley (Averett) def. Zachary Kaminski (Liberty University) (Fall 1:37)
184 Khalil Mitchell (Averett) def. Jackson Wakeland (Liberty University) (MD 12-3)
197 Sean Gillespie (Liberty University) def. Jacob Jimenez (Averett) (Dec 12-6)
285 Rick Weaver (Liberty University) def. Will Longhurst (Averett) (Fall 1:47)