Wrestling: Olivet finishes in fourth-place North Central Invitational

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The Olivet College wrestling team finished in fourth-place (out of nine schools) at the 51st Annual North Central (Ill.) College Invitational held today at the Merner Field House in Naperville, Ill.

The Comets totaled 102.5 points, while Wabash (Ind.) College won the team title with 159 points. North Central edged University of Dubuque (Iowa) for second-place by one-half point, 106.5-106. Behind Olivet was Augustana (Ill.) College, 78; Milwaukee (Wis.) School of Engineering, 58; Alma College, 46; Wheaton (Ill.) College, 39.5; and Knox (Ill.) College, 7.5. Senior Kyle Witgen at 149 pounds, senior Dan Fleet at 165 pounds and senior Nick Allen at 174 pounds each placed second in their respective weight class with 3-1 records.

Seeded fourth, Witgen won three straight matches by minor decision (9-3, 9-1 and 9-2). He was then edged by No. 2 seed Brian Travis from Dubuque, 3-2, in the championship match.

Fleet was also the fourth seed, recording a 10-0 major decision in the first round, 4-0 shutout win in the quarterfinals before receiving a medical forfeit victory over the top seed in the semifinals. Fleet lost the championship match, 4-0, to second-seed Stephen Aiello from Wheaton.

Seeded second, Allen pinned his first two opponents in the first period, 2:08 in the first round and 1:38 in the second round. He then won a 10-0 major decision over the third seed in the semifinals. In the championship match, Allen was defeated by No. 1 seed Conner Lefever from Wabash, 11-5. The match was a battle of nationally-ranked wrestlers, as Lefever is No. 2 and Allen is No. 4 in the most recent NWCA Individual Rankings.

At 133 pounds, senior Matt Darling had a 3-1 record en route to a third-place performance, which was an improvement on his fifth seed. After getting a bye in the first round, he upset fourth seed Casey McWhirter from North Central, 7-2, before losing to the top seed, 4-0, in the semifinals. Darling came back with a 5-4 win and then a 3-1 win over McWhirter in the third-place match.

At 285 pounds, senior Ryan Steverson matched Darling with a third-place finish but had a 3-1 record. He won 3-1 in the first round and then pinned fourth seed Jake Barclay from Wabash in the second round. Steverson lost, 2-0, to the No. 1 seed in the semifinals. In the consolation bracket, he received a forfeit victory over a teammate and then slipped past No. 3 seed Hernandez Jose Luis from MSOE, 6-5, in the third-place match.

Freshman Jared Brickley was unseeded at 125 pounds but turned in a fourth-place finish. Other place winners were sophomore Damian Johnson, sixth at 141 pounds; sophomore Ross Pennock, sixth at 157 pounds; and sophomore Jesse Judge, fifth at 285 pounds.

The Comets will travel to Las Vegas next week to participate in the Desert Duals on Sunday, Dec. 21. Olivet will wrestle three varsity matches against Coe (Iowa) College, Wartburg (Iowa) College and Buena Vista (Iowa) University. The competition starts at 8 a.m. PST.