Eight wrestlers place in Michigan State Open
Eight University of Indianapolis Greyhound wrestlers placed in the first tournament of the year held on Nov. 13 at the annual Michigan State Open. Head Coach Jason Warthan said he could see a lot of potential in his team this year.
“Last year, we had three wrestlers place in this tournament. So having eight wrestlers place this year shows a lot of improvement,” Warthan said.
University of Indianapolis sophomore Alex Johns competed in the 125 weight class in the 2009-2010 season. Johns went on to place first in the Michigan State Open on Nov. 13. Photo contributed by Oscar Salinas.
Division I wrestling teams Indiana University, Purdue University, Ohio State and Michigan State turned up the level of difficulty up a notch for the Greyhound wrestlers.
“This tournament is definitely a more competitive opener for our younger wrestlers,” Warthan said. “But it also shows what level you have to be at for the year.”
For the freshman/sophomore 125 division, sophomore Alex Johns ended the day with a perfect 5-0 record en route to winning the 125 pound title.
“I felt that the tournament was a great way to start the year off. The tournament had lots of good competition, and I’m glad to start the year with a 5-0 record.” Johns said.
Red shirt freshmen George Lopez took third in the 184 weight class, and freshmen Taylor Scott took home the bronze at the 197 division. Jeff Weiss took fifth place at 165 pounds.
“This being my first college tournament, I now realize how much more work I have to put into this season in order to be successful.” Scott said.
According to Scott, the improvements for the next tournment are endless.
“The main thing I have to improve on is wrestling on my feet, which includes working on my setups and motion,” Scott said.
In the open, senior Matt Irwin placed third at 141 pounds, after losing the first match and battling back to win six straight matches, winning against the one person who beat him earlier in the day.
“Irwin suffered a loss early on, but definitely bounced back and got third. At this level of competition, that is tough to do.” Warthan said.
Nick Walpole went 4-1 on the day, making it to the semi-finals before losing a close match to a Division I All-American from Bucknell 4-2 in overtime.
Walpole then won his next two matches, claiming third place at 149 pounds.
“Walpole had a great tournament. He beat the possible starters from Michigan State and Purdue University, and those are two of the best schools in Division I wrestling,” Warthan said.
Warthan also said conditioning, up-tempo drilling, technique and injury prevention are going to be the key focuses leading into the next meet.
“We hope to have at least 10 guys in the finals,” Warthan said .“We have a lot of work to do until then, but I have confidence in our team to do well.”
The Greyhounds will travel to Manchester College Dec. 3-4 for the Little State Tournament.
