Judge and Schmidt lead wrestling team at day one of Pete Willson Invitational

WHEATON, Ill. – Juniors Michael Schmidt and Jesse Judge have advanced to the semifinals, and the Olivet College wrestling team sits in ninth-place after the first day of the Pete Willson Invitational, hosted by Wheaton (Ill.) College and inside King Arena in Wheaton, Illinois.

This tournament is the oldest and largest small-college wrestling tournament in the country, dating back to 1938, features 32 schools in 2016. Of the 32 teams, seven are ranked in the most recent National Wrestling Coaches Association Top 25 poll. The Comets, making their first appearance in the poll this season, has 41.5 points. University of Wis.-Parkside leads the field with 87 points.

The No. 7 seed at 125 pounds, Schmidt will face No. 3 seed Ryan Weinmann from Wis.-La Crosse in the semifinals tomorrow morning. Today, he won his first three matches by minor decision – 5-0 over Trent Gill from Mount Union, 5-2 over Alan Mock from Manchester 7-6 over Chris Doyle from Baldwin Wallace.

The No. 6 seed at 285 pounds, Judge will wrestle No. 2 seed Austin Bellile from Milwaukee School of Engineering in the semifinals. After receiving a bye in the first round, Judge claimed an 11-3 major decision over Zach Urbanski from Elmhurst in the second round and then pinned Brian McNamara from Case Western with six seconds left in the second period of the quarterfinal match.

Wrestling as the No. 7 seed at 197 pounds, senior Thomas Hall has advanced to face No. 6 seed Bo Seibel from Wis.-Stevens Point in the consolation bracket quarterfinals. Hall defeated Tyler Maclellan from Baldwin Wallace, 5-1, in the first round and received a medical forfeit win over Bowen Wileman from Wis.-Whitewater in the second round. Hall was pinned by the No. 2 in the quarterfinals before rebounding to shutout John Hinson from Concordia, 7-0, in his first consolation bracket match.

At 133 pounds, sophomore Jared Brickley lost his first-round match, 18-6, to No. 3 seed Dustin Weinmann from Wis.-La Crosse. Dropping to the consolation bracket, Brickley defeated Toby Warrington from Muskingum, 11-5, and Caleb Ramos from Elmhurst, 11-3. Brickley was edged by No. 7 seed Alec Cotton from Mount Union, 3-2, in his final match.

At 165 pounds, junior Kevin Papak won a 14-5 major decision over Brandon Mattinen from North Central and then lost 6-3 to No. 5 seed Tyler Hardtke from John Carroll. Down in the consolation bracket, Papak pinned Marquis Dominique from Buena Vista in the first period and dropped a close 6-4 decision to Kyler Deeter from Ohio Northern.

At 141 pounds, junior Curtis Blackwell pinned his first-round opponent, Davis Baxter from Augustana, in 2:32 before losing 11-4 to Justin Kihn from Heidelberg. Blackwell pinned Zach Taylor from Baldwin Wallace in his first consolation bracket match and was bounced from the tournament with a 14-11 loss to Chase Wilson from Manchester. 

At 149 pounds, junior Matthew Lopez fell 9-4 to Chad Lammer from Elizabethtown in the first round. Lopez then shutout Anthony Lesko from Alma, 7-0, in the consolation bracket and bowed out of the tournament with a 12-2 loss to Mason Geary from Wis.-La Crosse.

Three wrestlers – junior Ross Pennock at 157 pounds, freshman Jacob Harvey at 174 pounds and sophomore Ryan Clark at 184 pounds – were all eliminated from the tournament with a 0-2 record.

Action for Hall, Judge and Schmidt resumes tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. CST.