Three Place High at Friends Tournament

Wichita, Kan. / Indianola--The William Penn men's wrestling team found success in a pair of competitions as it split up its crew Saturday.

The varsity and others trekked out of state to the Friends Falcon Invitational, while reserve grapplers hit the mat at the Simpson Luther Hill Invitational.

At the Friends meet, 149-pounder Cameron Hargrove (So., Bolingbrook, Ill., Undecided) and 157-pounder Kael Bunce (So., Muskegon, Mich., Industrial Technology) both reached the finals, but both came up short. Hargrove, who was 4-1 with two falls and a major decision, fell to Nathan Lendt of Doane in the championship bout.

Bunce was also 4-1 with one technical and one major decision. Steven Skewes (So., Duchesne, Utah, Exercise Science) was right behind his teammate in third at 157, ending up 5-1 and winning all five of his matches by fall (nothing longer than two minutes). Both Bunce and Skewes fell to Beau Blackham of Embry-Riddle.

The duo of 133-pounder Sabri Sino (Fr., Franklin, Wis., Sports Management) (one fall, one major decision) and 165-pounder Matheson Meade (So., Knoxville, Tenn., Exercise Science) (two falls) each owned 3-2 records, while 197-pounder Branson Bottorff (Jr., Mackinaw, Ill., Industrial Technology) (one fall, one major decision) posted a 2-2 mark Saturday.

Joining Bottorff with two wins is the quartet of 125-pounder Jeffery Myers (Fr., Yelm, Wash., Education) (one fall), 165-pounder Preston Wiest (Sr., Troutsville, Va., Biology) (one fall), 174-pounder Makail Stanley (So., Orena, Ill., Biology) (one fall), and 184-pounder Mason Walters (So., Independence, Mo., Exercise Science) (one technical fall).

133-pounder Nathaniel Lucero (Fr., El Paso, Texas, Industrial Technology) defeated one opponent by major decision, while 125-pounder Brendan Nantz (So., Tipton, Iowa, Industrial Technology) and 141-pounder Noah Aken (Fr., Omaha, Neb., Education) notched one victory as well.

Corbin Grace paced the reserves at the Simpson with a 3-2 record (two falls, one technical fall) to finish fourth at 125 pounds, while 157-pounder Tavian Thomas (Fr., Omaha, Neb., Business Management) left the venue with two wins (one major decision).

"There was significant improvement in our performance from Wednesday," Head Coach Aron Scott said. "Our guys wrestled with fire and passion and it showed. This was our best performance at this tournament; it is good to see that year-over-year improvement."

Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Tuesday, hosting Waldorf in a Heart of America Athletic Conference dual meet at 7 p.m.