Wrestling team sits fourth after day one of NCAA DIII Central Regional

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. – The Olivet College wrestling team sits fourth after the first day of competition at the 2019 NCAA Division III Central Regional, hosted by Wabash College and at the Knowling Fieldhouse in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

• Seven Comets are still alive in the brackets and will finish in the top eight of their respective weight class. Four of the seven won twice today to advance to the semifinals and with a win would punch a ticket to the 2019 NCAA Division III Championships. The other three are battling for a third-place finish and the final spot to the championships.
• Baldwin Wallace (Ohio) University is in first-place with 94.0 points. The host Little Giants are close behind with 91.5 points, followed by University of Mount Union with 80 points, and Olivet with 70 points. John Carroll (Ohio) University is in a distant fifth-place with 54.5 points.
• The 10 Comet wrestlers combined to post a 16-9 record. Of the 16 wins, nine were pins, one was a technical fall and two were major decisions.

• At 157 pounds, sophomore Cole Hersch had back-to-back first period pins to reach the semifinals. His pins were in 48 seconds over Jack Chipps from Case Western and 1:27 over Shaun Wagner from Ohio Northern.
• At 165 pounds, senior Tyler Grimsley pinned Derick Duvall from Adrian in 4:19 and then used a penalty point to beat in the final seconds of the match to beat Isaac Collier from Case Western, 1-0.
• At 174 pounds, junior Haydn Kinjorski pinned Michael Kashuba from Muskingum in the first period at 1:13, and won a 14-4 major decision over Nick Miller from Trine.
• At 285 pounds, sophomore Trevor Piggott pinned Nathan Scott from Ohio Wesleyan late in the match at 5:59, and scored six points in the third period to beat Antonio Zapata from Muskingum, 6-2.
• At 125 pounds, sophomore Cameron Mahlich posted a 19-3 technical fall before losing 9-3 in the quarterfinals. He rebounded to win a 12-1 major decision over Joshua Stephenson from Manchester, 12-1.
• At 133 pounds, freshman Reese Wallis pinned Brandon Bartlome from Ohio Northern with 10 seconds left in the match. He lost a major to the top seed in the quarterfinals before pinning Dominic Pecoraro from Trine in 1:53.
• At 149 pounds, junior Drew Mandell lost his first match. He then came back with a pair of first-period pins to stay alive in the bracket. Mandell pinned Caleb Blake from Ohio Wesleyan in 1:01, and Noah Nieman from Adrian in 1:21.
• At 141 pounds, sophomore Andrew Castaneda bowed out with two losses.
• At 184 pounds, junior Clayton Higelmire lost his first match, 9-4, bounced back with a 3-1 win, and suffered a 6-2 loss to be eliminated from the tournament.
• At 197 pounds, senior Jacob Harvey pinned his first-round opponent before losing in the quarterfinals, and suffering a 3-1 sudden death loss in the consolation bracket.

1. Baldwin Wallace (Ohio) 94.0, 2. Wabash (Ind.) 91.5, 3. Mount Union (Ohio) 80.0, 4. OLIVET 70.0, 5. John Carroll (Ohio) 54.5, 6. Ohio Northern 48.5, 7. Otterbein (Ohio) 41.0, 8. Alma 38.5, 9. Manchester (Ind.) 36.5, 10. Heidelberg 36.0, 11. Trine (Ind.) 35.0, 12. Muskingum (Ohio) 31.0, 13. Adrian 25.0, 14. Thomas More (Ky.) 23.5, 15. Mount St. Joseph (Ohio) 23.0.

• Action resumes tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. The top three finishers in each weight class will earn a trip to the 2019 NCAA Division III Championships March 8-9 in Roanoke, Virginia.