RedStorm posts strong showing at Life U Open

Rio Grande Sports Information
     MARIETTA, Ga. - Two University of Rio Grande freshman won their respective brackets, while Mitchell Freeman posted a third-place showing in his Open division bracket at last Saturday at the Business Network/Life University Open.
     In the Freshman/Sophomore division, freshman Justin Bartee (Point Pleasant, WV) won his second tournament of the year by racking up a technical fall and two pins before a thrilling overtime victory over a D1 opponent at 165 pounds.
     "Bartee is one cool customer - the dude's got ice in his veins," said Rio Grande head coach Jason Schweer. "There was a tough call there at the end that forced the match to OT. I wasn't very happy about the call, but it didn't seem to faze Justin. He just hopped up, kind of shrugged his shoulders, walked back to the center and went got the takedown to win it in sudden victory."
     Joining Bartee in the winner's circle was sophomore Anthony Parks (Jackson, OH), who finished atop the 184-pound bracket of the Freshman/Sophomore division.
     "This was the first time down to 184 for Anthony and we finally got a glimpse of what he's capable of," Schweer said. "He's coming off a year away from training and we're still working on his gas tank and getting his lungs back. Once we do that, he's going to be a tough out."
     Freeman led the way in the Open division with a third place finish in the 149-pound bracket.
     The Point Pleasant, W.Va. sophomore recorded a trio of wins by fall before dropping a tight 4-1 decision to a very game opponent in Noah Horst from St. Thomas University. He bounced back with an 8-5 win in the consolation semifinal before receiving a medical forfeit in the third place bout to end his day.
     "Mitchell wrestled lights-out. An excellent showing overall," said Schweer. "We really wanted that semifinal match back. Tactically, I made an error putting Mitchell down to start the 2nd period after we weren't able to get out in the first period. Mitchell threw the kitchen sink at him in the 3rd period working for a fall, we just ran out of time. Hopefully we'll get to run that one back later on in the season."
     Other highlights for Rio from the tourney came from juniors Lucas Chess (Urbana, OH) and Brennen Greene (Jackson, OH), who also posted wins in the Open division at 125 and 165 pounds, respectively.
     Freshman Bruce Wagers (Cincinnati, OH) posted his second third place finish on the year at 285 pounds with another 5-1 record in the Freshman/Sophomore division, while freshman Westyn Moyer (Urbana, OH) finished the day in sixth place.
     Moyer scored a takedown in sudden victory over Hagen Heistand of Campbell (NC) University to earn a spot in the semifinals, but then was forced to bow out of the tournament due to injury and, thus, fell to sixth place.
     "Bruce has a lot of tools, many of which were on display Saturday. He's one that's fun to watch – you just never know what he's going to pull out of his bag of tricks," Schweer said. "It was a tough decision to pull Westyn from the tournament because he's a true competitor and I know he would wrestle through the pain if he had to. It's something we've been trying to work through and just can't quite get past it. We'll take some time to rest up and be ready to get back at it after the holiday."
     Freshmen Braeden Denlinger (Kettering, OH), Mackandle Freeman (Point Pleasant, WV) and Aiden Greene (Bidwell, OH) all posted victories on the day in their respective weight classes in the Freshman/Sophomore Division.
     Also representing the RedStorm in the Open division was senior Isaiah Frederick (Shawnee, OK), who went 0-2 at 174 pounds, while freshman Colin Greenwood (Bethesda, OH) was 0-2 at 125 pounds in the freshman/division and sophomore Michael Peneski (Port Washington, NY) went 0-2 in the freshman/sophomore 285-pound bracket.
     "The guys wrestled incredibly hard, top to bottom. We had a great showing as a group and left Atlanta feeling a lot better than we did a year ago," Schweer said. "There's still plenty of work to be done, but we found ourselves in positions and situations that we need to go over and spend time on in the room and that's what we're going to do. We're going to get a couple good hard workouts in this week before enjoying some well-earned time off over the holiday."
     Rio Grande will return to action on Dec. 1 when it hosts Thomas More (Ky.) University in the program's first-ever home dual.
     "I'm excited to pack the Newt and get that place jumping," said Schweer. "Thomas More is a talented squad that's going to bring the heat. There ought to be some fireworks in that one. Our fans won't want to miss it!"