ADA, Ohio--On the strength of five placers, the Adrian College men's wrestling team scored 85-1/2 points to claim seventh place out of 11 teams at the Ohio Northern University Invitational on Saturday.
The Bulldogs finished ahead of 2015-16 nationally-ranked Alma (84 points) and Trine (38).
Adrian was led by freshman Dylan Steward at 157-pounds, finishing as the runner-up in the weight class. Steward went 3-0 with a 54-second pin and a pair of decisions before falling in 1 minute and 48 seconds to Willy Plaisir from Otterbein University in the championship match.
Junior Zach Rieger was third at heavyweight, defeating Nathan Barcaskey of the host Polar Bears in a 1:58 pinfall in the consolation finals. Rieger was 6-1 on the day--all wins by pinning his opponent, with the quickest coming in a mere 31 seconds.
Sophomore Dominic Paterra took fifth at 133 after going 3-2. He downed Otterbein's Tyler Norris, 9-3, for his third decision win at ONU.
Both freshman Drew Mandell and sophomore John Cooper Jr. wound up in seventh at 141 and 184, respectively. Mandell defeated Michael Dik from Washington and Lee University in a 1:10 fall--his third such victory of the day. His two losses via decision came by just eight points combined. Cooper, meanwhile, experienced the pinfall in all five of his matches--including for seventh place over Jaycee Jensen from Trine in 61 seconds.
Heidelberg University took the team crown with 166 points.
The Bulldogs hit the mat again on Thursday at Trine University in Angola, Ind., beginning at 7 p.m.
#BuildingAFoundation #AdrianBulldogs #GoDawgs #GDTBAB
