Wrestling: King and Phelps punch ticket to NCAA Championships, Olivet finishes sixth at NCAA Division III Central Regional
March 2, 2024
ADA, Ohio – Seniors Donovan King and Dylan Phelps secured a trip to the 2024 NCAA Division III Championships to lead The University of Olivet wrestling team to a sixth-place finish at the 2024 NCAA Division III Central Regional. Ohio Northern University hosted the regional at the ONU Sports Center.
- With a 3-1 record, senior Donovan King finished as the runner-up at 285 pounds. He won his first three matches before losing the championship match, 3-0, to Doug Byrne from Baldwin Wallace (Ohio) University.
- At 141 pounds, senior Dylan Phelps posted a 4-1 record to earn his first trip to the national championships. He won his first two matches before losing to two-time NCAA All-American Jacob Reed from Ohio Northern in the semifinals. Phelps bounced back to win a 16-1 technical fall before winning a 16-12 decision over Art Martinez from Case Western Reserve (Ohio) University in the third-place match.
- At 149 pounds, junior Tyler Herrema finished fourth with a 3-2 record. After losing his semifinal match, he came back to pin his opponent. In the third-place match, Herrema came up just short, losing a 10-8 decision.
- Junior Ramiro Guerrero had a 4-2 record to finish fifth at 157 pounds.
- Also placing for the Comets were junior Emmett Kettel, seventh at 125 pounds; freshman Juwan Vines, seventh at 184 pounds; and junior Kody Krupp, eighth at 197 pounds.
- Olivet tallied 100 points. Baldwin Wallace (Ohio) University was the regional champion with 193 points. Wabash (Ind.) College took second with 155 points, followed by Ohio Northern, 138.5; Adrian College, 117.5; and Albion College, 107.
- 125: Emmett Kettel – 3-2 record – 7th-place – lost 13-1 major decision to Cade Odrobina (Albion), pinned Jordan Miller (Mount St. Joseph, Ohio) in 2:05, won 12-3 major decision over Nasir Christion (Manchester, Ind.), pinned by Colin Mellott (Ohio Northern) in 1:12, won by medical forfeit over Noah Houchins (Otterbein, Ohio).
- 141: Dylan Phelps – 4-1 record – 3rd-place – won 18-2 technical fall (3:42) over Will Brodbeck (Hiram, Ohio), won 11-1 major decision over Robert Palmieri (Baldwin Wallace, Ohio), lost 6-2 decision to Jacob Reed (Ohio Northern), won 16-1 technical fall (2:56) over Drew Miller (Heidelberg), won 16-12 decision over Art Martinez (Case Western Reserve, Ohio).
- 149: Tyler Herrema – 3-2 record – 4th-place – won 19-4 technical fall (2:49) over Chris Davis (Muskingum, Ohio), won 5-3 decision over Calvin Cai (Case Western Reserve, Ohio), lost 12-3 major decision to Max Honiss (Albion), pinned Keagan Mabie (Manchester, Ind.) in 3:35, lost 10-8 to Daniel Uribe (Wabash, Ind.).
- 157: Ramiro Guerrero – 4-2 record – 5th-place – won 12-5 decision over Justin Gorman (Albion), pinned by Patrick McGraw (John Carroll, Ohio) in 4:15, won 16-1 technical fall over Owen Atienza (Alma), won 20-7 major decision over Zachary Platte (Adrian), pinned by Jayden Jones (Ohio Northern) in 5:13, won 13-9 decision over Thomas Wagner (Case Western Reserve, Ohio).
- 184: Juwan Vines – 3-2 record – 7th-place – won 13-2 major decision over Mathew Gummere (Case Western Reserve, Ohio), lost 9-0 major decision to Charles Baczek (Wabash, Ind.), won 14-2 major decision over Desmon Perry (Ohio Wesleyan), lost 13-5 major decision to Adam Medeiros (Heidelberg, Ohio), won 8-5 decision over Ethan Risner (Manchester, Ind.).
- 197: Kody Krupp – 2-3 record – 8th--place – pinned by Jackson Beck-Calvert (Adrian) in 1:39, won 16-0 technical fall (5:04) over Ethan Skinner (Manchester, Ind.), won 10-1 major decision over Kaleb Gelter (Mount St. Joseph, Ohio), pinned by Bryce McCloskey (Mount Union, Ohio) in 2:29, pinned by Jackson Beck-Calvert (Adrian) in 4:51.
- 285: Donovan King – 3-1 record – 2nd-place – pinned Edward Powers (Hiram, Ohio) in 1:16, pinned Demetrius Hernandez (Heidelberg, Ohio) in 1:41, won 17-0 technical fall (3:45) over Mason Slocum (Adrian), lost 3-0 decision to Doug Byrne (Baldwin Wallace, Ohio).
- The 2024 NCAA Division III Championships are March 15-16, at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin.