Moyer, Bartee post historic wins for Rio wrestling

Rio Grande Sports Information
     WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. - The University of Rio Grande men's wrestling team produced its first-ever event champions during last Saturday's season-opening Pepsi Open hosted by the University of the Cumberlands.
     Freshmen Westyn Moyer (Urbana, OH) and Justin Bartee (Point Pleasant, WV) both went 4-0 on their way to earning titles in the Freshman/Sophomore Division at 157 and 165 pounds, respectively.
     The duo became the first individuals to win a wrestling tournament in school history.
     Moyer's championship win was a 3-2 decision over Michael Bone from Cumberlands, while Bartee posted an 11-1 majority decision over Luke Leclerc of Bellarmine University in his title match.
     Fellow frosh Bruce Wagers (Cincinnati, OH) went 5-1 on the day with five falls en route to a third place finish in the Freshman/Sophomore 285-pound division, while freshman Mackandle Freeman (Point Pleasant, WV) began his collegiate career with a 4-2 record and a fifth place finish in the 149-pound weight class.
     Redshirt freshman Anthony Parks (Jackson, OH) and freshman Braeden Denlinger (Kettering, OH) each registered multiple wins on the day before bowing out of the their brackets at 197 and 285 pounds, respectively.
     Sophomore Mitchell Freeman (Point Pleasant, WV) led the way for the RedStorm in the Open division with a trio of impressive wins in a huge, tough-as-nails, 149-pound bracket, falling just short of placing.
     Freeman fell in the quarterfinals to top-ranked, two-time NAIA national finalist Ryan Moore of Thomas More University. His other loss was a tight 8-7 decision to 20th-ranked Kael Brisker of Southeastern University, a returning NAIA national qualifier.
     "Overall, I was very happy with our performance as a team. Top to bottom, everybody came out and competed hard," said Rio Grande head coach Jason Schweer. "We got to see where we're at competitively. We got to test our training and see where our gas tanks are at and we got feedback on the positions we need to spend time on in the room. We've been training hard for what feels like forever, it felt really good for our guys to go out, compete and get hands on somebody other than their teammates."
     Among the others representing the RedStorm in the freshman/sophomore division were freshman Colin Greenwood (Bethesda, OH), who went 1-2 in the 125-pound bracket and freshman Aiden Greene (Bidwell, OH), who went 0-2 at 174 pounds.
     In the Open division, junior Lucas Chess (Urbana, OH) went 0-2 in the 133-pound bracket, while junior Brennen Greene (Jackson, OH) finished winless in a pair of 165-pound matches and senior Isaiah Frederick (Shawnee, OK) posted a 1-2 mark in the 174-pound bracket.
     "This is a really fun group. Our returners have stepped-up and embraced leadership roles and this freshman class is chock-full of talent," Schweer added. "We've got a long ways to go to get where we're going, but this was one heck of strong first step in that direction. I can't wait to see what this group can accomplish."
     Rio Grande returns to mat on Saturday, Nov. 19, at the Life University Open in Powder Springs, Ga.