Findlay, OH. – Tournament season rolls on for the Wheeling University Wrestling team as they competed in their third tournament this month. This trip took them to Findlay University for the Findlay Open as they took on wrestlers from all three levels of the NCAA.
Jake Powell continued his roll in the 285-lb weight class, and three different Cardinals picked up three or more wins on the day.
Sophomore
Jake Powell has made it to the Championship round of the Heavyweight bracket in each of the first two tournaments, and looked to make another run on Saturday. He started his day with a 5-0 decision win over Indiana Tech's Ian Clifford as he pushed his winning streak to six straight matches. In the second round, he would take on Grand Valley State's Brandon Boudreau and picked up his fastest pinfall of the season. He picked up the pin in 35 seconds as he advanced to the Quarterfinal round. He continued his non-conference run against Wisconsin-Parkside's Jason Guaddarrama and got pinfall number two on the day. This time, it took three rounds, but Powell got the pin in 6:15 for his eighth straight victory.
He would take on his first Mountain East Conference (MEC) opponent in the semifinal round in Notre Dame College's Laron Parks. That is where his day would end as he fell in a 10-3 decision to finish 3-1 on the day. Powell now moves to 12-3 on the season and has made it to atleast the semifinal round in al l three of his tournaments this season and his tournament record moved to 12-2. He was one of three Cardinals to finish with 3+ wins on the day as he was joined by
Caden Canning in the 133-pounf weight class and
Zach Larue in the 141-lb weight class. It was both wrestler's best showings of the season.
Caden Canning took on the 133-pound weight class and started his day with a pinfall against Grand Vaey State's Lane Huizar. He picked up the pinfall in 4:47 as he moved on to round two for the first time this season. His second match would come against Lake Erie College's Lukas Selph and the two would battle to an extra period. Unfortunately, it would go to the Storm as Selph picked up a 4-1 Sudden Victory to drop Canning to 1-1. He bounced back in the consolation round with a Major Decision over Tiffin's Frank Depinet and advanced to the third round of the consolation bracket. That is where his day would end as he dropped his final match to Findlay's Gavin Ritter in a 7-3 decision, as he finished 3-2 on the day.
The other 3-2 wrestler on the day was Zach LaRue in the 141-pound weight class as he put together his best tournament of the season. He started his day with a 4-1 decision loss to Ohio State's Garett Lautzenheiser as he moved to the consolation bracket. He battled West Liberty's Luke Miller and got his first win of the day with a 12-4 Major Decision to move to 1-1. His next match was a high scoring affair as he battled Indianapolis's Gavin Garcia and Larue would come out on top in a 17-13 decision. His third win of the day was a pinfall victory as he took down Indiana Tech's Connor Kimbrough in 2:19. He rounded out the day in the fourth round against Ohio's Kaden Jett.
The other two Cardinal wrestlers on the day were
Alex Finsley and Brain Crevar, who each picked up a win on the day. Crevar's win came in the preliminary round of the consolation bracket as he defeated Indianapolis's Kaden Lone with his first career pinfall in 2:24.
Alex Finsley finished 1-2 on the day, with a bye in the consolation round to round out the day.
The Wheeling University Wrestling team returns to action on Sunday, December 3rd, when they wrestle in the Lake Erie Storm Open with first matches at 9 AM.
