Stefan Farian Leads Strong Effort for Wrestling at 2022 JCU Open

2/13/2022 5:45:00 PM | By: Joe Ginley '16, SID

The last chance for Blue Streak wrestlers to compete in the regular season is the JCU Open.

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- The sixth annual John Carroll Open went smoothly on Sunday at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.

The Blue Streaks tallied six placers and one champion (all in the Blue brackets) at the 2022 JCU Open, which featured wrestlers from 23 universities.

The tournament was the final one of the regular season for the Blue Streaks.

Blue Brackets
Gold Brackets

Stefan Farian stole the show for the Blue Streaks. The Richfield native conquered all of his foes in the 174 Blue bracket. The junior opened with a 3-2 victory, as Brody Arrundale coached him along. Farian pinned his next opponent before walking into a battle in the semifinal. Ryne Lewis of Notre Dame College put up a steep fight, and the bout required overtime after a 1-1 score at the end of regulation. Farian managed a takedown at 43 seconds, winning a 3-1 sudden victory decision. The championship match didn't require as much time, as the Revere alumnus pinned his opponent at 4:07.

Ryan Forrest fought for a third-place finish at 149. The freshman kicked off his run with a pin at 2:26 and a 13-2 major decision. But then he experienced a 10-8 setback to the eventual champ, Matthew Kaufmann of Notre Dame College. Forrest won his first consolation match by pin to get into the third-place match. He took care of business with a 9-5 decision over Baldwin Wallace's Justin Ritchie.

Luke McKeon also claimed third place. The Lake Catholic grab dropped his opener to the eventual winner at 184, Ohio State Club's Graham Carson. McKeon found his footing with a 5-3 decision and then pinned BW's Jack Cain at 1:19 for the bronze.

Brady Leczo became JCU's third bronze winner. The freshman lost his opening bout before pushing his way forward in the consis via a second-period pin and a medical forfeit. He made quick work of his foe in his final match, earning a pin in just 34 seconds for third place.

Liam Helon completed the day with a fourth-place effort. The sophomore scuffled in his initial match, losing a 6-2 decision. He battled back with an 11-2 major decision and then a medical forfeit. In the third-place bout, Helon faced a rematch with his first foe, Melvin Patterson. This time it was an all-out war, with a flurry of action in the third period sending it to overtime at 2-2. Helon unfortunately allowed a takedown in extra time, allowing a 4-2 sudden victory loss.

Adam Salek experienced the same kind of day, a fourth-place finish with two losses to the same opponent. The Medina native began the day with a dominant 17-0 tech fall. He then suffered a 3-2 loss to Notre Dame College's Cale Hoskinson. Salek snagged back-to-back tech fall conquests of 19-3 and 19-4 to finagle his way into the third-place match. Hoskinson awaited again, and dealt Salek a narrow 10-6 loss.

With the JCU Open in the rearview mirror, the Blue Streaks now look ahead to NCAA Regionals. The men of Mark Hawald will head to Adrian, Michigan for the NCAA Division III Central Region Championships at the Merillat Sports & Fitness Center on February 25 and 26.

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