9th of 12 at Adrian Invitational
Freshman Jimmy Brenneman (Sagamore Hills/Nordonia) and freshman Bryce Wittman (Nashville, Tenn./Montgomery Bell Academy) led the Bishops as Ohio Wesleyan opened its season at the Adrian Invitational, hosted by Adrian College on Saturday in Adrian, Mich.
The tournament marked the Bishops' first intercollegiate competition on the mats since 1984, the last season that Ohio Wesleyan fielded a wrestling team.
Wabash edged Mount Union for the team title by a score of 170-169. John Carroll finished third with 159 points, followed by Heidelberg (94), Adrian (89), Lourdes (69), Toledo (64), Thiel (58), Ohio Wesleyan (28½), Henry Ford College (23½), Defiance (17½) and Wilmington (3½).
Wrestling at 133 pounds, Brenneman racked up an 8-4 decision over Dominic Devine of John Carroll and a 3-1 decision over Liam Alicardi of Lourdes before falling to De'Ante Evans of Toledo in the semifinals. Brenneman won the fifth-place match against Malachi Greene of Adrian by forfeit.
Wittman, wrestling at 165 pounds, lost to Anthony Cicciarelli of Wabash in the first round, then moved through the consolation bracket, defeating first Tyler Gates of Lourdes and then his Ohio Wesleyan teammate, freshman Caleb Blake (Tipp City/Tippecanoe) on falls. Wittman then lost to Austin Bonacci of Thiel, 7-3, in a semifinal matchup. The seventh-place match was to be a rematch against Cicciarelli, but Wittman won by forfeit.
Blake opened the tournament by defeating Bobby Kelley of Lourdes, then lost a 9-4 decision to Seth Winkle of John Carroll in the quarterfinals to end up in the consolation bracket.
Freshman William Kennedy (Baton Rouge, La./Episcopal), wrestling at 141 pounds, lost to Cole Bailey of Mount Union in the first round and fell to Dakota McCloskey of Mount Union in the consolation bracket.
At 149 pounds, freshman Max Beard (Palo Alto, Calif./Gunn) lost to Adrian's Brandan Kammer in the first round, then lost to Jacob Stephenson of Wabash in the consolation bracket.
The Bishops had 3 wrestlers compete at 157 pounds. After receiving a first-round bye, freshman Matt Hall (Bethel/Bethel-Tate) lost a 5-1 decision to Dylan Steward of Adrian in the second round, then lost a 12-6 verdict to Brady Wilson of Wilmington in the consolation bracket. Freshman Ross Eggleston (Lancaster/Bloom-Carroll) lost to Daniel Novak of John Carroll, 8-2, in the first round, and lost to Devin Miller of Heidelberg in the consolation bracket. Freshman Jaret Lowry (Litchfield/Buckeye) received a first-round bye, then lost a 6-3 decision to Ethan Garcia of Adrian before losing a 7-3 decision to Deondre Yarber-Rodriguez of Henry Ford College in the consolation bracket.
Final Results
