Jake Strausbaugh was perfect on the day, including a victory over the number-one seed in the finals of the Concordia Wrestling Open Saturday. Strausbaugh, the number three-seed, finished 6-0 to win the 149-pound weight class title.
The junior opened with a convincing 13-3 win against Mike Anderson of Kennedy King, then scored his only pin of the competition in the second round 2:20 into his bout against Zach Fisher from Wisconsin-Platteville. A 15-0 technical fall against Tim Crimm from the host Concordia team advanced Strausbaugh to the championship quarterfinals where he dispatched second-seeded Drew Wagenhoffer from Wartburg with a 13-3 major victory. That put Strausbaugh against top-seeded Kodie Silvestri from Wartburg, but the Wabash wrestler was up to the task. Strausbaugh won 9-8 to take the title.
Results (pdf).
Dylan McBride scored a second-place finish in the 285-pound weight class. The sophomore entered the tournament unseeded and opened with a major victory (13-3) over Jeff Tyburski from the University of Chicago. McBride pinned Charles Haines (1:10) in the next round, then earned a 7-3 victory over seventh-seed Cody Wolever from Muskegon. That victory sent McBride into the championship semifinals were he defeated sixth-seeded Jake Morris from Wartburg 5-3. McBride faced the number seed Ryan Fank from Wartburg in the finals, with Fank winning by pin at the 3:46 mark in their championship bout.
Greg Rhoads and
Logan Cooper each tallied top-eight finishes at 184 pounds. Rhoads grabbed third place with an overall record of 5-1 for the day. He started with a14-4 major victory against Andy Borchardt from Steven Point, then followed with back-to-back pins against Matt Beelher (2:59) and seventh-seeded Seth Crane (3:10). Rhoads, a two seed for the tournament, lost 5-1 to third-seeded Dylan Azinger. Rhoads rallied for an 8-4 win over fifth-seeded Mitchell Steed in the consolation semifinals before defeating fourth-seeded Jordan Richardson 10-4 in the finals.
Cooper, unseeded in the tournament, scored a pin in his first match of the day at the 2:06 mark of the bout against Ameer Bogan. A 6-0 loss to Steed sent the freshman to the consolation bracket where he rolled off two consective 5-3 victories. Cooper pinned Crane at the 4:53 mark of the consolation quarterfinals bout to drop to the seventh-place match, where eighth-seeded Sam Upah won by pin (1:00).
Austin O'Neal added a fifth-place finish at 197 pounds. The eight-seed in the weight class, O'Neal defeated Mario Palmisano 10-5 in his first bout of the day, then knocked off top-seeded Dustin Wozniak 3-1 in the championship quarterfinals. Fifth seed Punahele Soriano won by pin (5:41) in the semifinals, sending O'Neal to the consolation bracket. He lost 7-1 to second seed Danny Vargas, but picked up a medical forfeit in the finals to take fifth overall.
Dalton Stanley and
Drew Songer also added top-eight finishes for Wabash. Songer was seventh at 174 pounds, while an injury sent Stanley to eight place in the final standings. The unseeded Songer picked up an early victory by pin (1:30) in the first round, but lost 9-7 in the next bout. two pins, including one just 36 seconds into a bout against Josh Porter, put Songer up against sixth-seeded Jacob Brown. Songer won 9-6, but lost to second seed Bradley Banks in the next round. Songer was declared the winner in the finals over Stanley, who withdrew due to his injury.
Stanley started strong with a 15-0 technical fall and pin at the 1:32 mark of his second bout. The fourth-seeded Stanley lost 7-0 to fifth seed Ben Scott, but rallied for a pin against Joshua Lowy in the consolation bracket. A 7-6 defeat in the next round to Matt McCrary ended Stanley's day.
Wabash will be back on the mats at home when the Little Giants serve as hosts for the annual Little State Wrestling Tournament December 2-3 at Chadwick Court.
