Patrick McGraw and four first-year Streaks (Daugherty, Horgan, Bizjak, and Bronson) all excelled on Sunday (photo by Albion SID's Savannah Waddick)
ALBION, Mich. – Traveling as a program with the women's squad for the first time, John Carroll Men's Wrestling seemed to get a boost today.
The Blue Streaks thrived at the Albion Invitational on Sunday.
The Men of Carroll finished second as a team, behind only the host Britons. JCU registered one champion, three runners-up, one third-place finisher, and a fourth-placer.
Patrick McGraw anchored the John Carroll squad. The Chardon native fired through the 157-pound bracket. The Saint Ignatius grad tallied easy tech falls of 17-1 and 17-2 to roar into the semifinals. That contest proved to be the closest, as McGraw picked up an 8-2 decision over Albion's Zachary Jacobs to march into the title bout. McGraw notched a 17-0 tech fall in that match over Thomas More's Kailan Keith to take the crown at 157.
Ty Daugherty snagged second place for JCU. The first-year Streak dominated his first two bouts, with a pin in 4:16 to start, followed by a 19-4 tech fall. The semifinal was slightly more challenging, ending with an 11-3 major decision. His day ended in a loss in the championship battle, but it was still a nice day for the Avon native.Â
Jesse Kanatzar scored big points for John Carroll with a runner-up effort. The Tallmadge native opened with a hard-earned 1-0 decision before revving up the offense in a 20-4 tech fall. He punched his ticket to the title bout next with a 12-4 major decision. Albion's Owen McDaniel defended his home turf, however, in a 10-4 decision.
Bear Horgan enjoyed a breakout day with a silver finish. The freshman opened with a fortuitous 15-0 tech fall win. In perhaps the upset of the day, the Arizona native upended the top seed, Dubuque's Tyler Thurston, with a fantastic 10-4 decision. Horgan kept on rolling with a 14-6 MD to move into the championship. But Albion's Demond Harrison ended the great run for Horgan there, but not before Horgan showcased some great potential.
Kyle Bizjak notched third-place honors at 149 pounds in another good freshman showing. The Aurora native authored 10-6 and 7-1 decision wins before dropping to the consolation bracket. The first-year then kept on rolling, with a late pin and then a 6-1 decision to accept bronze.Â
Wills Bronson was the final top-4 placer for the Blue Streaks. The first-year man from Memphis tallied two wins via pin to get his day started, the latter coming against a favored foe in Thomas More's Caleb Lake. A narrow loss sent him to the consis, but the Christian Brothers grad bounced back with a win over teammate Ryan Forrest to get to the third-place match. Bronson dropped a 5-1 decision to settle for fourth.
Following today's strong effort, the Blue Streaks will get a chance now to rest over the Thanksgiving break. John Carroll is back at it on December 2 at the RIT Invitational.Â
