WHEATON, Ill.—The Adrian College men's wrestling team had an impressive debut at the prestigious Pete Willson Invitational hosted by Wheaton College, which concluded Saturday after two days at the Thunder Sports and Recreation Center.

Buoyed by a pair of championship quarterfinalists in freshman Dylan Steward (157 pounds) and junior co-captain Zach Rieger (285), the Bulldogs placed 24th out of 34 teams--many nationally-ranked in NCAA Division III. Adrian, which even was 13th after the first round on Friday, ended up with 28 points.

Steward finished the tournament with a 5-2 record, including a medical forfeit over third-seeded David Shapiro from Baldwin Wallace, to earn fifth place. Earlier today, Steward defeated No. 6 seed Steve Bonsall (Chicago), a 9-4 decision, before a tough 11-6 loss to fourth-seeded Austin Quartullo (Wisconsin-Whitewater). 

Steward opened Friday with pins over Josh Bush (Augustana) in 5 minutes and 34 seconds and No. 7-seeded Frank Aiello (Wheaton) in 1:44. Steward lost to second-seed Logan Meister of No. 14-ranked Ferrum in the quarterfinals, 6-3, but remained alive in the double-elimination tournament after doubling up Jaden Boivin (Wisconsin-Stevens Point), 13-6.

Nationally No. 8-ranked Messiah College won the team title with 161 points. Meister--only a three-point winner over Steward--was named the George Olson Outstanding Wrestler Award.

Adrian hits the mat again on Thursday at Alma College to close out its dual-match schedule versus the Scots, who were 33rd with six points during this weekend's Invitational.

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