Wrestling: Four champs lead Comets to second-place finish at Mid-States

OLIVET, Mich. – Four individual champions led the Olivet College wrestling team to a second-place finish at the 2015 Mid-States Conference Tournament today inside The Cutler Event Center in Olivet. In addition, Curtis Blackwell was named the Most Outstanding Freshman Wrestler.

The Comets totaled 168 points, which was 23 points less than team champion Wabash (Ind.) College. Alma College took third at 140.5 points, followed by Heidelberg (Ohio) University, 83.0; Manchester (Ind.) University, 60.0; Ohio Northern University, 55.5; and Trine (Ind.) University, 46.5.

Winning titles were sophomore Michael Schmidt at 125 pounds, senior Matt Darling at 133 pounds, senior Kyle Witgen at 149 pounds and sophomore Jesse Judge at 285 pounds.

Schmidt posted a 3-0 record. In the first round, he won a 17-0 technical fall victory over Aaron Parr-Besemer from Alma and then slipped past Tommy Poytner from Wabash, 14-11, in the semifinals. In the championship match, Schmidt received a medical forfeit win over a teammate.

Darling also had a 3-0 record. He advanced to the semifinals when his scheduled first-round opponent did not make weight this morning and then avenged a defeat from earlier this season to Chandler Moore from Wabash, 5-2, in the semifinals. In the championship match, Darling used a late reversal to win 8-6 over Zac Case from Alma.

Witgen went 3-0. In his first round match, he pinned Clayton Capes from Manchester in the first period before shutting out Patrick Parham from Wabash, 7-0, in the semifinals. Witgen also picked-up a medical forfeit victory in the championship match.

Judge finished with a 4-0 record. He pinned Sam Mattingly from Wabash in the first round before winning back-to-back minor decisions – 5-3 over John Eckthorn from Heidelberg and 2-1 over Tyler Eible from Alma. In the championship match, Judge defeated Cameron Daniels from Alma, 6-0.

Three Comets placed second in their respective weight class. At 125 pounds, freshman Jared Brickley went 3-1, with a 2-1 win in the first round, 7-4 win in the quarterfinals and pin in the semifinals. He was on the losing end of the medical forfeit in the championship match.

At 141 pounds, Blackwell posted two straight pins, the first one in the opening period at 1:53 and the second in the second period at 4:08. He nearly came-from-behind to win the championship match, but fell short, 13-10, to Lincoln Kyle from Wabash. At 184 pounds, sophomore Rodney Harvey won two minor decisions, 3-1 and 6-2, before being pinned by nationally-ranked and tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler Riley Lefever from Wabash in the championship match.

Junior Thomas Hall placed third at 197 pounds with a 4-1 record. He won 6-0 and 9-1 before suffering a 4-3 loss in the semifinals. In the consolation bracket, Hall bounced back with two wins, including 14-2 over Michael Conner from Trine in the third-place match.

Sophomore Matthew Lopez was third at 149 pounds. He received a bye in the first round and then a forfeit in the quarterfinals. After getting pinned in the semifinals, Lopez came back to win twice, including a 4-3 sudden death victory over Patrick Parham from Wabash in the third-place match.

Three wrestlers – sophomore Damian Johnson at 141 pounds, senior Dan Fleet at 165 pounds and senior Nick Allen at 174 pounds – placed fourth with 2-2 records. Finishing in fifth-place were freshman Dean Roberts at 141 pounds and sophomore Kyle Carter at 184 pounds.

The Comets now turn their attention to the 2015 NCAA Division III Midwest Regional Meet Feb. 28 at Wabash. The top three-placers in each weight class will advance to the 2015 NCAA DIII National Championships  March 13-14 in Hershey, Pa.