Wrestling team wins 2021 MIAA Championship in dominating fashion

ALMA, Mich. – The Olivet College wrestling team won the 2021 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Championship in dominating fashion. The Comets defeated Alma, 35-9; Adrian College, 33-9; and Trine (Ind.) University, 37-9. Olivet won 23-of-30 bouts, and scored bonus points in 17 of the victories.

• The Comets won 8-of-10 bouts, scoring bonus points in five.
• Senior Cameron Mahlich started the match with a 3-2 decision at 125 pounds.
• After Olivet lost the 133-pound bout, freshman Dylan Phelps and junior Hunter Murphy posted back-to-back technical fall victories at 141 and 149 pounds, respectively. Phelps won 21-6, and Murphy won 17-1.
• At 157 pounds, freshman Gabe Guerrero pinned his opponent in the third period.
• Following a pin for the Scots at 165 pounds, sophomore 174-pounder Owen Guilford quickly got the six team points back with a first-period pin at 1:28
• Senior Adam Hall recorded a 5-3 decision at 184 pounds.
• Senior Trevor Piggott won a 17-8 major decision at 197 pounds.
• Sophomore Dominick Wilson shutout his opponent, 6-0, at 285 pounds.

• Olivet won the first seven bouts, with five bonus point wins.
• Mahlich got the match started with a 16-1 technical fall at 125 pounds.
• Junior Reese Wallis was next up and posted a 12-2 major decision at 133 pounds.
• Phelps slipped past his opponent, 7-5, at 141 pounds.
• Murphy pinned his man in 2:16 at 149 pounds.
• Sophomore Jerry Hall also had a first-period pin at 2:28 of the 157-pound bout.
• Junior Dylan Briggs won 5-1 at 165 pounds.
• Sophomore Zach Wells got a pin 43 seconds into the second period of the 174-pound bout.

• The Comets earned wins in eight bouts, and scored bonus points in all except one.
• Mahlich finished 3-0 on the day with a 16-5 major decision at 125 pounds.
• Murphy had another first-period pin at 57 seconds in the 149-pound bout.
• Jerry Hall won an 11-1 major decision at 157 pounds.
• Freshman Mitchell Reynolds used the riding time point to win 7-6 at 165 pounds.
• Guilford pinned his opponent with one second left in the 174-pound bout.
• Adam Hall claimed a 9-0 major decision at 184 pounds.
• Piggott also won by major decision, 12-4, at 197 pounds.
• Sophomore Donovan King capped the match with a 1:46 pin at 285 pounds.

• The Comets have now won 13 MIAA titles in school history, including four straight (1984, 2019, 2020 and 2021).
• Olivet has won 21 straight matches against Adrian, and has outscored the Bulldogs 725-150 in those 21 matches.
• The Comets have a 16-8 all-time record against Alma.
• Olivet has a 19-1 all-time record against Trine. The only loss to the Thunder was a 21-18 decision on November 11, 2008,

• In light of the fact that the 2021 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships being cancelled, the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Leadership Group, in consultation with the coaches they represent in their respective regions, are working together to provide a national championship experience for wrestlers. They have chosen March 12-13 as the dates for the tournament at an undetermined location.