Grimsley wins, again! Comets takes second at North Central Invitational

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Junior Tyler Grimsley won the 165-pound weight class for a second time this season, and the Olivet College wrestling team took second at the 2017 North Central College Invitational, held today at the Merner Field House in Naperville, Illinois.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Grimsley started his day with a 12-7 decision over Connor Guzior from Wabash and then posted a 19-7 major decision over Jake Poole from Augustana. In the quarterfinals, Grimsley picked-up an injury default victory and in the semifinals, he used two takedowns and two escapes in the third period to beat Chase Schmidt from Wis.-Eau Claire. In the championship match, Grimsley slipped past Drew Matticks from Milwaukee School of Engineering, 5-4. Grimsley scored a takedown midway through the final quarter to go ahead 4-3. An escape tied the match but the riding point provided the winning point for him.
• For a second straight week, sophomores Cole Hersch and Drew Mandell wrestled each other in the third-place match of the 149-pound bracket. This week, Hersch took third-place over his teammate with a 13-4 major decision. Mandell had two first-period pins and 13-5 major decision to reach the semifinals which he suffered a 14-6 loss. He rebounded to pin Ben Williamson. Hersch had a bye in the first round before winning two decisions, 6-5 and 4-0, to reach the semis which he lost 10-6. He then posted a 9-1 major decision over Matt McGowan from North Central.
• At 174 pounds, sophomore Haydn Kinjorski placed fourth. He began his day with three straight wins (17-7, 12-7 and 5-1) before suffering a 6-1 loss in the semifinals. Kinjorski bounced back to pin Eric Hominac from North Central and then lost 9-5 Evan Lawrence from Wis.-Eau Claire in the third-place match.
• At 184 pounds, senior Ryan Clark finished in fifth-place. He won his first match 20-8 but dropped a 13-98 decision in the quarterfinals. Clark bounced back with two wins in the consolation bracket, 16-7 and 11-6, before losing 14-2 to drop into the fifth-place match which he won by forfeit over Joshua Bouie from North Central.
• At 197 pounds, junior Jacob Harvey won his first two matches by decision, 11-7 and 5-4. He was then forced to medical forfeit his remaining matches, resulting in a sixth-place finish.

OLIVET RESULTS BY WEIGHT CLASS

• 125: Cameron Mahlich 2-2; Garret Cleveland 0-2
• 133: Spencer Fox 2-2; Kaleb Marion 2-2; Jacob Kinney 0-2
• 141: Ethan May 2-2; Andrew Castaneda 1-2; Andre Bourlier 0-2
• 149: Cole Hersch: third-place, 4-1; Drew Mandell: fourth-place, 4-2; Joseph Shuler 0-2
• 157: Kyle Roberts 2-2; Ethan Sharp 2-2; Adam Hall 2-2
• 165: Tyler Grimsley: first-place, 5-0; Dylan Briggs 1-1; Nicholas Worden 0-2
• 174: Haydn Kinjorski: fourth-place, 4-2; Nicholas Guerra 2-2; Kamyab Kamali 1-2
• 184: Ryan Clark: fifth-place, 3-2
• 197: Jacob Harvey: sixth-place, 2-0; Raden Holmes 1-2; Jack Tromp 0-2
• 285: Jalen McFerrin-Pace 3-2; Bradley Gierman 2-2; Clayton Higelmire 1-2

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

1. Wabash (Ind.) 167.0, 2. OLIVET 92.5, 3. North Central (Ill.) 73.0, 4. Wis.-La Crosse 66.0, 5. Dubuque (Iowa) 65.0, 6. Thomas More (Ky.) 62.5, 7. Adrian 61.0, 8. Wis.-Eau Claire 54.0, 9. Augustana (Ill.) 52.5, 10. Alma 48.0, 11. Wheaton (Ill.) 45.0, 12. Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.) 42.5, 13. MacMurray (Ill.) 19.0, 14. Trine 16.0, 15. Lakeland (Wis.) 0.0.

UP NEXT

• Olivet trains for more than a week and then is back in action Monday, Dec. 18, at the Washington & Lee (Va.) Duals. The Comets will face Greensboro (N.C.) College, U.S. Coast Guard Academy (Conn.), King's (Pa.) College and Averett (Va.) University. The first match against Greensboro starts at 9 a.m.