Decatur, Ill. — Wabash College wrestlers earned 11 top-six finishes, including one individual championship and five top-three efforts, in their opening competition of the season at the non-scoring Millikin University Open Tournament on Saturday.
 
Senior James Day, the nation's top-ranked wrestler at 133 pounds entering the season, captured that weight-class title with five victories in the bracket. Day opened the tournament with a 6-1 win over Tyson Zvonar of Illinois Wesleyan, followed by a 15-0 technical fall over Shane Watson of Campbellsville. He advanced with a 5-2 victory against Jayson Stevens of Cornell College before recording a 9-0 shutout over Truman Folker, also from Cornell, in the semifinal round. Day claimed the 133-pound championship with a 7-3 win against Olli Webb of Indian Hills in the title bout.
 
Andrew Punzalan placed second at 125 pounds with a 4-1 record for the day. He started with a 6-3 win over Gannon Kuhn of Cornell, then scored a pin at 1:45 of his second-round bout against Darnel Martinez. Punzalan defeated Anthony Marino of Millikin 8-3 in the quarterfinals before advancing to the championship match with a 4-2 win over Jase Van Pelt of Cornell. He dropped a 10-3 decision to Charlie Dykes of Indian Hills in the finals to finish second overall.
 
Hadyn Ball earned third place at 197 pounds with wins over Michael Romero (pin, 6:04), Everett McClelland (pin, 4:30), and Spencer Watson (3-2). Jaylen Young started his competition at 174 pounds with a pin 56 seconds into his opening match against Thay See of Indian Hills. He added technical fall victories over Zion Shaw (15-0), Kreicg Roe (16-1), and Corey Bradley (17-2) to secure third place in his weight class. Mason Weyant scored wins in his first two matches — a 15-0 technical fall against Seth Deperro and a pin at 6:35 against Jaylen Covington — then received two medical forfeits to finish third at 141 pounds.
 
Isaac Ash placed fourth at 125 pounds with wins over Austin Brown (pin, 6:11), Peirson Wilkerson (technical fall, 19-2), and Owen West (16-2 major decision).

Watson earned victories over Wade Mettling (technical fall, 19-3) and Connor Kelly (5-0) to place fourth at 197 pounds. Carson Fettig finished fifth at 149 pounds with wins over Daniel Busch (13-4 major decision), Cooper Ludwig (9-4), and Shehab Emam Mohamed (1-0). Zachary Huckaby finished with a 4-1 record at 184 pounds to take fifth overall, posting victories over Henry Williams (9-0 major decision), Mataeo Blessing (5-1), Landen Schemmel (pin, 1:36), and Michael Taheny (4-0).