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Aiden Ashburn vs. Albion
Sam Herr

Men's Wrestling Notches 4 First-Place Winners at Albion Open

| By: JCUSID
Aiden Ashburn (pictured here) was one of the champs. 

Brett Stanley, Aiden Ashburn, Jesse Kanatzar, and Thomas Lunt all finished first in their weight classes

ALBION, Mich. – A good week became a great one for John Carroll Men's Wrestling on Sunday. 

The Blue Streaks followed up a win on Wednesday over Heidelberg with a strong showing at the Albion College Invitational. While there was no team scoring, JCU still impressed. 

Brett Stanley (125), Aiden Ashburn (174), Jesse Kanatzar (197), and Thomas Lunt (285) all secured first-place finishes. Wills Bronson notched a third-place effort. Drew Connelly and Jacob Holtz rounded things out in fourth. 

Brett Stanley began his day with a 17-2 tech fall win in the second round, following it up with a much closer 4-1 decision in the quarterfinal. Back-to-back Albion opponents awaited him in the semifinal and championship at 125 pounds. The Broadview Heights native battled into the title bout with a 5-2 decision. The war for the crown proved to be a difficult one, but Stanley stood victorious in the first sudden victory period, 4-1. 

Aiden Ashburn's path looked fairly similar, with a strong start and a challenging finish. The Westlake native began with a dominant win, 14-2, in the second round. He bested a foe from Albion next in a 4-2 decision. He punched his ticket to the first-place match with a 12-0 semifinal conquest. Ashburn's final foe, Tyler Bodovetz of Ohio Wesleyan, carried the #6 regional ranking at 165 pounds entering the season. The two competitors needed a sudden victory period to decide it, and Ashburn got the job done, 8-5. 

Jesse Kanatzar was fortunate enough to receive a bye to the quarterfinal, but he took advantage of it. The Tallmadge native cruised to the finals with tech fall wins of 17-2 and 18-3. The title match proved to be a rematch from the season opener, when Albion's Demond Harrison beat Kanatzar in sudden victory. But in a rematch between two nationally ranked foes – Harrison at #6 and Kanatzar at #14 – the Blue Streak had the last laugh. Kanatzar pinned Harrison in the first period, 1:28 to be exact, to secure revenge and a title. 

Thomas Lunt received no such byes but grabbed first place, nonetheless. The junior from Connecticut got a big victory at the start, an 18-3 tech fall. The second round proved more challenging, but Lunt squeaked by with a 4-1 victory decided in the first sudden victory period. Lunt kept on rolling with 14-9 and 5-0 decisions into the first place contest. Facing off with Christopher Krum of Albion (ranked #2 in his region), Lunt fought to a tiebreaker period. In the end, Lunt emerged victorious, 6-2. 

Wills Bronson accepted a bronze finish at day's end. He began the afternoon with a win by fall at 4:39, advancing to the quarterfinal. In a rematch from the season opener against Albion's Owen McDaniel, Bronson lost by a near-identical 12-4 major decision. But the Memphis native rebounded well, notching a 16-1 tech fall and then a pin win. In the ensuing third-place contest, Bronson eked out a 7-5 decision over Brady Heckathorn (Cornerstone) for third. 

Drew Connelly won his first two contests by decision at 157 before losing in the quarterfinal. The first-year grappler notched a pin and then a decision to fight to the third-place match. Unfortunately Albion's Justin Gorman snuck by with a 7-3 win. 

Jacob Holtz competed at 285 with Lunt, though he didn't have to face his JCU teammate. Holtz started with a pin and a major decision to get to the quarterfinal, where Krum was waiting. In a rematch from the start of the year, Krum again came out on top, 12-2. Holtz did not despair, with a second-period pin and an 11-0 major decision. But in the third-place match, Olivet's Mason Knight got by him in a 13-4 MD. 

Next Up
The Blue Streaks have the Olivet Comet Duals next Saturday in Michigan, the team's second trip up north in as many weekends.
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