Rio wrestlers fare well at Cumberland Open
Rio Grande Sports Information
LEBANON, Tenn. - Mitchell Freeman posted a runner-up finish in his weight division, while teammate Bruce Wagers placed third in his class to lead the University of Rio Grande wrestling team's efforts at Saturday's Cumberland University Open at the Dallas Floyd Recreation Center.
Freeman, a sophomore from Point Pleasant, W.Va., finished 4-1 in the tournament's 149-pound division, losing only a 3-2 decision in the championship match to Life (Ga.) University's Francis Morrissey.
Freeman opened his run with a 3-1 decision over Leonel Silvestre of Truett-McConnell before posting three straight wins by fall. His pins came against Braden Wharton of Montreat (NC) College at 2:33; Lance Brown from Savage Wrestling at 4:17; and Life University's Logan Reaves at 5:48.
Freeman, who was tied for 24th place in the latest NAIA rankings for his weight class, finished the weekend with a 20-9 record for the season.
Wagers, a freshman from Cincinnati, Ohio, ran his season record to 21-13 after winning five of his six outings in the event.
Wagers immediately fell into the consolation bracket after suffering a tough 3-2 decision at the hands of Life University's Dylan Galloway, but rebounded to post five consecutive victories, including a pin of Galloway at 2:27 in a rematch for third place.
In between the bookend matches with Galloway, Wagers pinned Wade Humphrey from the University of Tennessee at 0:56; posted a 10-0 majority decision over his Rio Grande teammate, Braeden Denlinger; pinned Colton Kessinger from the University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) at 4:23; and won by fall over Ben Stokes of Cumberland (Tenn.) University just 29 seconds into their match.
Rio Grande, which did not field wrestlers at either 133 or 197 pounds, also got fourth-place finishes from sophomore Amir Harris (Trotwood, OH) at 141 pounds, freshman Justin Bartee (Point Pleasant, WV) at 165 pounds and freshman Isaac Gray (Frankfort, OH) at 174 pounds.
Harris posted a 5-2 record to push his season mark to 12-6, while Bartee - ranked 23rd nationally - went 5-1 to improve to 27-6 for the year.
Gray went 3-2 for the weekend, winning his first two bouts before dropping two of his final three outings.
Freshman Westyn Moyer (Urbana, OH) and sophomore Anthony Parks (Jackson, OH) went 2-2 in the 157- and 184-pound brackets, respectively, while Denlinger - a freshman from Kettering, Ohio - and sophomore Michael Peneski (Port Washington, NY) both snared one win each at 285 pounds.
Four others also represented Rio in the tourney - freshman Colin Greenwood (Bethesda, OH) at 125, sophomore Ethan Pannell (Boise, ID) at 157, sophomore Kaylin Foust (Charlotte, NC) at 165 and freshman Ashton Simison (Enon, OH) at 184 - but failed to record a win.
Rio Grande next returns to the mat on Feb. 17-18 as part of the Mid-South Conference Championship Tournament in Bowling Green, Ky.