John Carroll head coach
Mark Hawald continued to throw his young team to the fire as the Blue Streaks competed as one of just four NCAA Division III institutions amongst a field of 19 schools Saturday the Findlay Open in Findlay, Ohio.
In the unscored meet, the Blue Streaks landed four of their wrestlers in the top eight of their respective weight classes.
Complete Results
The top placer was senior
Sal Corrao, who took third at 141 pounds. His day began with a pin over Tyler Knul of Wheeling Jesuit (4:48), and a major decision over Ohio Valley's Levi Congleton (17-5). In the championship quarterfinals, Corrao won in a tiebreaker, edging Gannon's John Marott, 6-5.
Corrao's only loss was Daniel Romero of Wheeling Jesuit, falling in a nailbiter, 5-4. He would bounce back and defeat Collin Adkins of Kent State, 6-3, in the third-place match.
Austin Victor had a memorable meet, as the freshman went 4-2 and placed seventh at 141 pounds. He opened his tournament by winning 12-1 over Maverick Meeks of Ohio Valley, then won three times in the consolation round.
Blake Dixon was sensational on this Saturday, as he finished 3-2 and took fourth place at 157 pounds. He started out exceptionally well, pinning Jared Sample of Gannon at the 5:00 mark in his first match of the day. Dixon won his next two matches to reach the championship semifinals before dropping his last two matches.
At 184 pounds,
Kevin Khoma had a tremendous day as he went 2-2 and finished in fourth place. Khoma won his first two matches to reach the championship semifinal before he lost in his final two bouts.
Other wrestlers who won at least two matches were
Mitch Tikkanen (2-2 at 133 pounds),
Mason Daugherty (3-2 at 141),
Shane Ging (2-2 at 149 pounds),
Christian Hipsher (2-2 at 174 pounds),
Mason Litz (2-2 at 197 pounds),
Trey Ellis (2-2 at Hvy.) and
Russ Porter (2-2 at Hvy.).
The Blue Streaks will now have an extended break until their next competition, the 50th Annual RIT Invitational, where JCU will return as reigning champions. Wrestling in Rochester, NY is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. two weeks from today at the Gordon Field House.
