Wrestling: Olivet takes first-place at Al Hanke Invitational

ELMHURST, Ill. – Backed by championships from senior Kyle Witgen and sophomore Rodney Harvey, the Olivet College wrestling team won the 2015 Elmhurst (Ill.) College/Al Hanke Invitational today at R.A. Faganel Hall in Elmhurst, Illinois.

The Comets totaled 141 points to beat runner-up Harper (Ill.) College by 11.5 points. The host Bluejays were third with 114.5 points, followed by University of Wis.-Stevens Point, 98.5; and University of Chicago (Ill.), 83.5, to round out the top five schools. Overall, 11 schools participated in the tournament.

Wrestling as the No. 1 seed in the 149-pound bracket, Witgen won four matches en route to the first-place finish. He defeated No. 2 seed Blake Santi from Elmhurst, 6-2, in the championship match.

Harvey was the top seed at 184 pounds and had a 3-0 record to earn the win. He edged second-seed Taylor Beaman from Wis.-Stevens Point, 5-4, in the championship match.

Olivet also had four wrestlers – sophomore Michael Schmidt at 125 pounds, senior Matt Darling at 133 pounds, freshman Dominick Trevino at 141 pounds and junior Thomas Hall at 197 pounds – finish in second-place. Schmidt won three matches before losing to No. 1 seed Jake Bellis from Harper, 8-4, in the championship match. Darling posted two minor decision wins before dropping a 5-1 decision to No. 1 seed Brandon Preston from Trine (Ind.) University in the championship match.

Trevino pinned his first three opponents all in less than one minute and then won 8-4 before suffering a 9-2 loss to top seed Jared Kust from Wis.-Stevens Point in the championship match. Hall won twice before electing to medical forfeit the championship match against Jordan Koranda from Wis.-Stevens Point.

Unseeded in the 141-pound bracket, sophomore Curtis Blackwell received an award for the most falls in least amount of time. He totaled five pins in 18 minutes and 58 seconds, with the fastest coming in 49 seconds in his first match.

The Comets return to the mat next Tuesday, Jan. 20, with a dual match at Manchester (Ind.) University, starting at 7:30 p.m.