Carrying the weight of so many close defeats may have crushed most teams, but the resilient John Carroll wrestling team bounced back in an emphatic way Thursday night in Ada, Ohio.

Five wrestlers combined to score 25 points as John Carroll snapped a seven-match losing streak at the hands of the Ohio Northern Polar Bears with a stunning 25-23 victory.

Both teams entered the competition surrendering six points through forfeits at 125 (where John Carroll's John Cobos would take the win) and 285 (where Ohio Northern's Cody Lovejoy picked up the victory).

That left the match to be decided in the middle weights.

JCU fell behind 7-6 after a major decision loss at 133 and a close bout where Anthony Torocchio lost to Cody Harting, 4-3, at 141 pounds.

The Blue Streaks then got stellar efforts from their three most consistent wrestlers this season. Dan Mirman scored a major decision at 149, as did Terner Gott at 157. Thomas McNulty then upped the ante by scoring an 18-3 technical fall victory at 165.

John Carroll led 19-7 through six bouts, but a major decision by Ohio Northern at 174 and a forfeit awaiting at 285 meant a victory was needed in one of the final bouts for the Blue Streaks to avoid another narrow defeat.

Enter Isen Vajusi at 184 pounds. 

The JCU freshman came through in grand fashion. Leading 5-3 midway through the third period, Vajusi used a double leg takedown and turned it into a pinning combination that ended the bout at the 6:28 mark. Rather than earn a simple decision, Vajusi's win by fall gave the Blue Streaks an insurmountable 25-11 advantage.

Even a pin at 197 and the forfeit at 285 could not prevent John Carroll's first win in the series since January 23, 2007.

John Carroll ends its regular season at 4-7 overall in dual meets and 2-3 in the OAC.

John Carroll 25, Ohio Northern 23

125 John Cobos, (J), forf. 133 Cole Cochran, (O), maj. dec. Michael Buckiso, (J), 12-2 141 Cody Harting, (O), dec. Anthony Trocchio, (J), 4-3 149 Daniel Mirman, (J), maj. dec. Ryan Fowler, (O), 16-5 157 Terner Gott, (J), maj. dec. Kyler Deeter, (O), 15-5 165 Tom McNulty, (J), tech. fall Keegan Shillito, (O), 7:00 18-3 174 Tyler Gargano, (O), maj. dec. Mike Marotta, (J), 14-3 184 Isen Vajusi, (J), pinned Dillon Brancheau, (O), 6:28 197 Michael Pawlitz, (O), pinned Brad Beattie, (J), 1:37 285 Cody Lovejoy, (O), forf.