RedStorm's Moyer wins, Wagers 2nd at Patriot Open

Rio Grande Sports Information
     CORBIN, Ky. – Westyn Moyer captured a championship and Bruce Wagers earned a runner-up finish to lead the efforts of the University of Rio Grande men's wrestling team at Saturday's season-opening Pepsi Patriot Open hosted by the University of the Cumberlands at The Corbin Arena.
     Moyer went 4-0 in the 157-pound division, while Wagers was 4-1 in the 285-pound bracket.
     Moyer, a senior from Urbana, Ohio, defeated Jaheim Mills of Andrew College by majority decision, while also posting a technical fall victory over Rochester Christian (Mich.) University's Hunter Thomson, a pin of Campbellsville (Ky.) University's Anthony Joseph and a 14-7 decision over Montevallo (Ala.) Univeristy's Carson Freeman in the championship bout.
     Wagers, a senior from Cincinnati, Ohio, rolled into his title match by pinning Marian (Ind.) University's Kaleb Abad and earning a 9-3 decision over Tunde Oroye of Cleary (Mich.) University before posting pins of Reinhardt (Ga.) University's Caleb Pruitt and Phillip Terrell from Truett-McConnell (Ga.).
     Wagers' run ended when he lost by fall to Devan Hendricks of Bellarmine (Ky.) at 1:36 of their championship match.
     Rio's other place-holder was Justin Bartee, who went 4-2 to finish fifth at 184 pounds.
     Bartee, a senior from Point Pleasant, W.Va., won his first three matches – by majority decision over Brady Heckathorn of Cornerstone (Mich.) University, by technical fall over Peter Sells of Marian, and by an 11-6 decision over Lane Kiser from Cumberlands (Ky.) – before dropping consecutive bouts to Keiser (Fla.) University's Sam Libby and Southeastern (Fla.) University's August Baston.
     He rebounded to close the day with a medical forfeit win over Logan Heckert from Cumberland (Tenn.) University.
     "A huge shout-out to Westyn Moyer for bringing home the belt at 157. He was absolutely lights out - simply outstanding. This was the most dialed-in that I've ever seen him," said Rio Grande head coach Jason Schweer. "Bruce and Justin had incredibly impressive days, too. Both had stout competition that pushed them to be their best. While neither finished the day how they would've liked, we got some excellent feedback from those tough matches that will help us be great moving forward."
     Also representing the RedStorm in the Open portion of the event was junior Trey Allen (Mechanicsburg, OH), who went 3-2 in the 141-pound division; senior Mackandle Freeman (Point Pleasant, WV), who was 2-2 at 157 pounds; junior Pate Eastin (Granger, IN), who also went 2-2 at 165 pounds; and senior Kaylin Foust (Charlotte, N.C.), who went winless in a pair of matches in the 157-pound bracket.
     In the Freshman division, Rio was led by sophomore Connor Blessing's (Point Pleasant, WV) 5-1 showing at 141 pounds. Sophomore Benjamin Sloan (Ironton, OH) posted a pair of wins at 149 pounds, while Jaydon DeHart (Ashland, KY) had one win at 133 pounds and William Bush (Greenville, OH) did the same at 157 pounds.
     Braeden Buxton (Mechanicsburg, OH) finished 0-2 in the 285-pound bracket.
     "I was very happy with our performance over the weekend. The first tournament of the year, the first competition of the year…you really have no idea what to expect," Schweer said. "I'd say this is probably one of best performances out the gate in program history. Our young guys got their first taste of collegiate competition. They competed hard and represented themselves - and Rio - in a great light. Our older guys looked better than ever."
     Rio Grande returns to action on Friday night when it hosts West Virginia University-Tech and Defiance College in a triangular meet at the Newt Oliver Arena. Match time is set for 6 p.m.
     "We'd love to get the Lyne rockin'," Schweer said.