Cleveland, OH. – Since the program's revival during the 2020-2021 season, the Wheeling University Wrestling team had not had an individual tournament champion. That all changed as the Cardinals headed to the Ohio Collegiate Open, hosted by Case Western University on Saturday. Every Cardinal wrestler had at least two wins on the day, but it was the Heavyweight Championship that highlighted the team's effort.
That championship came courtesy of
Jake Powell, who wrestled in the 285-lb weight class for the second consecutive tournament. Powell finished as runner up in his first tournament of the season, posting a 4-1 record, and was out for revenge this time around. He started his day against unattached wrestler Royce Deckard (IND) and kicked things off with a bang, picking up a 17-1 technical fall victory. He moved on to the second round and added his first pinfall of the day as he pinned Midway's Aaron Garcia in 5:45 to move on to the Quarterfinals. It was there that he would face one of his biggest challenges of the day, going against unattached wrestler
Zach Kuneff (WHL).
The two wrestlers would battle throughout the three rounds of competition, with each looking to get the upper hand. The advantage would come via an escape point as Powell picked up a 1-0 victory to advance to the semifinal round. There, he would face Ashland's Gage Gibson and, for the second bout in a row, Powell was able to keep his opponent off the board. He picked up a 6-0 decision victory and for the second tournament in a row advanced to the Championship round. It would be a matchup in "The Battle for Wheeling" in the championship as Powell would take on West Liberty's Parker Bentley. This time, Powell was able to accomplish his goal with a 4-2 Decision as he was named the 285-pound champion. His record in tournament play moved to 9-1 while his season record moves to 9-2 as he continues his early season success.
Every other Wheeling Wrestler finished 2-2 on the day across the remaining four weight classes, completing a strong day. Sophomore
Caden Canning wrestled in the 133-lb weight class and fell to Tiffin's Frank Depinet via pinfall at the 6:04 mark. He then bounced back with an MEC win over Glenville State's Cam Fentress, winning an 8-5 Decision. He picked up his second win in a row in the next match, beating Utica's Mikael Neris via technical fall 21-6, before his day ended with a 16-9 decision against Gannon's Brock Christian. Up next was
Hunter Randolph in the 157 lb weight class as he wrestled his first tournament of the season as he finished 2-2. After falling in an 8-5 decision in his first match, and receiving a bye in the consolation bracket, he came back with a 6-2 Decision over Gannon's Evan Reid. His other win came via Technical Fall over unattached wrestler Matthew Presley 15-0 before falling in a 12-6 Decision to end his night.
Brennon Reid took on the 174-lb weight class, and received a bye to start the day before falling in a 13-3 Major Decision. In the consolation round, Reid picked up his first win over RIT's Michael Patti via an 18-9 Major Decision. He then beat Tiffin's Colin Steinmetz in a 6-5 Decision before his day ended via pinfall in the final match of the day.
Alex Finsley would round things out in the 184-lb weight class, after placing fifth the first time. He began his day against Glenville State's Brady Ross and he came through in a big way with a 19-3 Technical Fall. After getting a bye in the second round, Finsley continues his success, pinning Midway's Adam Lynch in 2:24 to move to 2-0. His day would then come to an end S he fell to RIT's Zach Swyers in a 10-1 Major Decision as he finished 2-1.
The Wheeling University Wrestling team returns to action on Saturday, November 18th, when they take on the Findlay Open at 9 AM.
