Wrestling team starts season at EMU and Ben McMullen Opens

YPSILANTI, Mich. – The Olivet College wrestling team started its 2016-17 season by splitting its squad and competing at both the 2016 Eastern Michigan University Open in Ypsilanti and the Ben McMullen Open, hosted by Muskegon Community College.

RESULTS FROM EASTERN MICHIGAN

• Eight wrestlers competed at Eastern Michigan.
• At 174 pounds, junior Davon Jackson had a 2-2 record. He won his first two matches by decision – 4-0 over Matt McFarland from Ohio University and 9-2 over Jared Leidich from EMU.
• At 285 pounds, senior Jesse Judge also posted a 2-2 record. After being pinned in his first round match, he bounced back to win a 12-0 major decision over Eric Conquest from Lake Erie (Ohio) College and pin Evan Loughman from Lake Erie in four minutes. Judge bowed out with a 5-4 loss to Kostya Golobokov from University of Michigan.
• Senior Curtis Blackwell at 141 pounds, junior John Leark at 165 pounds, freshman Haydn Kinjorski at 165 pounds and senior Rodney Harvey at 184 pounds all picked-up one win each.

RESULTS FROM MUSKEGON

• Freshman Michael Shaw won the 149-pound bracket with a 3-0 record. He received a bye in the first round, defeated Tyler Johnson from Henry Ford College, 10-5; in the quarterfinals, Mike Phelps from Niagara County Community College (NCCC), 12-5; in the semifinals and pinned Trey Gower from Henry Ford in the championship match.
• Junior Ryan Clark placed second in the 184-pound bracket. He had two straight byes to start the day and then pinned Eugene Latson from NCCC to reach the championship match, which he fell to Logan Hargerbaumer from Lincoln Community College.
• At 125 pounds, senior Michael Schmidt was third. He pinned David Chavez from University of Toledo (Ohio) in the first round and defeated James Gallardo from Triton Community College, 12-6. After dropping a close 6-4 decision in the semifinals, Schmidt beat Dalton Kinison from Lincoln, 13-0, and Corey Robinson from Muskegon, 14-3.
• Freshman Frank Mercurio finished third at 157 pounds. He won a sudden death victory match, 7-5, over Jaycob Bechtol from Muskegon in the quarterfinals before getting pinned in the semifinals. He rebounded to pin Ben Huff from Toledo in 58 seconds and defeat a teammate, 14-7, in the third-place match.
• At 133 pounds, Junior Jared Brickley placed fourth. He won back-to-back decisions, 10-4 and 9-4, to reach the semifinals. Brickley was pinned in the semifinals before edging Davian Gowens from Muskegon, 3-2, in his first consolation bracket match. He then lost 6-4 in the third-place match.
• Freshman Nicholas Worden was fourth at 157 pounds. He started the day with a 17-2 tech fall win and 5-4 decision. Worden fell 8-4 in the semifinals, and rebounded to win a 13-3 major decision before the 14-7 loss to Mercurio in the third-place match.

UP NEXT

• Olivet hosts Eastern Michigan for a dual match next Friday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m.