WPU Splits on Opening Night
Kansas City, Mo.--The Statesmen men's wrestling team won once and lost once as it began the 2022-2023 campaign with a pair of non-conference duals Wednesday.
William Penn (1-1) opened the evening with a 35-15 victory over Bethany (Kan.), but was denied the perfect start as it was defeated by host Avila 30-15.
Jeffery Myers (Fr., Yelm, Wash., Education) got things started with a forfeit win at 125 pounds, while 133-pounder Sabri Sino (Fr., Franklin, Wis., Sports Management) nearly doubled the advantage with a 16-1 technical fall victory against Braden Brimm.
After a loss at 141, 149-pounder Cameron Hargrove (So., Bolingbrook, Ill., Undecided) and 157-pounder Kael Bunce (So., Muskegon, Mich., Industrial Technology) collected consecutive forfeits.
Preston Wiest (Sr., Troutsville, Va., Biology) kept it rolling with a 5-3 decision over Jesse Gardner at 165.
Makail Stanley (So., Orena, Ill., Biology) pinned Trison VandeVelde in the third period (5:38) at 174, while Mason Walters (So., Independence, Mo., Exercise Science) put a bow on top by getting past Hunter Blix 9-3 at 184 pounds.
Unfortunately, the navy and gold could not replicate that outing, winning just three times versus the host Eagles.
Myers pinned Elijah Gunnels for a quick 6-0 start and Sino dropped Tyler Johnson by decision to push it to 9-0. Avila then won at 141, but Hargrove got most of those points back with a decision against Logan Johnson.
Five of the last six matches went in favor of AU, except for 197 where Branson Bottorff (Jr., Mackinaw, Ill., Industrial Technology) held off Corbin Katamm by decision. It was unfortunately not enough as the Eagles took the dual win.
"Overall, we did not compete to our standards last night," Head Coach Aron Scott said. "Unfortunately, our mistakes overshadowed the good we did. The majority of our guys wrestled well. Our freshmen wrestled really well in our lower weights where we weaker last year. It is exciting to see that we made some improvements over last year. Moving forward we need to learn from our mistakes, bring the excitement and energy to our matches, and use our conditioning more to our advantage."
Next Up: William Penn travels to Wichita, Kan. Saturday to compete in the Friends Falcon Invitational. Action is set to start at 9 a.m.
WPU 35, Bethany (Kan.) 15
125--Jeffery Myers (W) won by forfeit (6-0)
133--Sabri Sino (W) won by technical fall over Braden Brimm, 16-1 (11-0)
141--Kaden Goff (B) won by fall over Brise Bennett, 0:30 (11-6)
149--Cameron Hargrove (W) won by forfeit (17-6)
157--Kael Bunce (W) won by forfeit (23-6)
165--Preston Wiest (W) won by decision over Jesse Gardner, 5-3 (26-6)
174--Makail Stanley (W) won by fall over Triston VandeVelde, 5:38 (32-6)
184--Mason Walters (W) won by decision over Hunter Blix, 9-3 (35-6)
197--Chase Pywell (B) won by decision over Branson Bottorff, 8-2 (35-9)
285--Rocky Whitehead (B) won by medical forfeit over Ross Via (35-15)
Avila 30, WPU 15
125--Jeffery Myers (W) won by fall over Elijah Gunnels (6-0)
133--Sabri Sino (W) won by decision over Tyler Johnson (9-0)
141--Luke Ward (A) won by major decision over Brise Bennett (9-4)
149--Cameron Hargrove (W) won by decision over Logan Johnson (12-4)
157--Karter Brink (A) won by technical fall over Steven Skewes (12-9)
165--Jett Merlo (A) won by decision over Matheson Meade (12-12)
174--Jake Callahan (A) won by fall over Preston Wiest (12-18)
184--Daryus Webb (A) won by fall over Mason Walters (12-24)
197--Branson Bottorff (W) won by decision over Corbin Katamura (15-24)
285--Griff Qualls (A) won by forfeit (15-30)
