NAPERVILLE, Ill.--Led by freshman Angus Arthur's win at 197 pounds, the Adrian College men's wrestling squad scored 107-1/2 points to place fifth out of nine teams at the 52nd annual North Central College Invitational on Saturday.
Adrian had three other Top-3 finishes as freshmen teammates James Davis was the 184-lb. runner-up, Don Mandell came in second in the 165 finals, and Joe Dombrowski third at 133, respectively.
Arthur took down Kyle Carter of Olivet College by a 15-3 major decision to set the tone for his terrific performance. In the third round, Arthur claimed the first of his two pins on the day over Ethan Benoit from Augustana (Ill.) College in 1 minute and 27 seconds. After a win over Dubuque's Sharrod Wilson in the semifinals, Arthur edged Benoit's teammate Christos Giatras by a 4-2 decision. Arthur is ranked 10th in the NCAA Division III 197-lb. standings.
Davis lost a tough match against top-seeded Riley Lefever from Wabash College--who is nationally-ranked No. 1 in his weight class--in the 184 championship, a fall in 42 seconds. But Davis won four outings, including a 2:49 pin over Logan Walkup (Wheaton-Ill.) and 3-2 decision over Augustana's Thomas Reyhons, to get to the finals.
At 165, Mandell received a first-round bye and posted back-to-back pin falls in 3:57 (Jordan Furiosi, Augustana) and 2:08 (Michael Neal, Dubuque) to reach the semifinals against Trace Timmons of Augustana. He defeated Timmons in a 10-6 decision to advance to the championship match, where he lost to Connor Brummett of Wabash by a 12-4 major decision.
Dombrowski went 4-1 en route to taking the 133 consolation finals. His victories included a medical forfeit, 8-2 decision, 9-1 major decision and 2:34 pin. He beat Casey McWhirter of the host NCC Cardinals for third place.
Freshmen Aaron Ward (5th, 141-lbs.) and Daniel Shear (5th, 149) also placed for Adrian in their respective weight classes.
In the final team standings, it was Wabash, 236; Dubuque, 178-1/2; North Central, 153; Augustana, 146; Adrian, 107-1/2; Wheaton-Ill., 62-1/2; Olivet, 46; Milwaukee School of Engineering, 21-1/2; and Millikin, 12. Wabash is ranked ninth nationally in NCAA Division III.
With final exams completed and the fall semester schedule wrapped up, Adrian can enjoy the holiday break before taking to the mats again in the New Year 2016 on Friday through Sunday, Jan. 8-10, at the National Duals/Open Tournament in Fort Wayne, Ind.
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(Editor's note: This event recap was corrected at 12:13 p.m. on Sunday, December 13, 2015, to add Don Mandell's second-place 165-pound finish. Adrian Athletics apologizes for the omission from the original posting.)
