Eads Qualifies, Statesmen Place Seventh at Heart Championship
Oskaloosa–Joe Eads (Jr., Morrison, Ill., Biology) shook off an early loss and went on a revenge tour the remainder of the day to earn another bid to nationals as the William Penn men’s wrestling team competed at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship Saturday.
Host WPU placed seventh out of nine teams with 48.5 points, while #1 Grand View topped the team standings with 216.5 points. Missouri Valley was a distant runner-up with 146.5 points.
Eads dropped his first bout 7-3 to Jovon Mitchell of Missouri Valley, but the 149-pounder rallied with four straight wins, including three by fall. In the third-place match, to guarantee himself a return trip to the NAIA National Championships, he pinned Mitchell in the first period. It will be Eads’ second trip to the final event of the year.
Nadhelo Charles-Pierre (Sr., Miramar, Fla., Sports Management) also reached the third-place matchup at 125 pounds, but could not pick up the victory. The senior finished with a 2-2 record.
157-pound freshmen Makail Stanley (Orena, Ill., Biology) and Cameron Hargrove (Bolingbrook, Ill., Undecided) both just missed out on exceptional days. Stanley was 2-2, but both of his setbacks came by two points each, including the first coming to the eventual runner-up and the latter occurring in overtime.
Hargrove defeated his first opponent by technical fall, but could not continue rolling through his bracket.
Ray Lugo (Fr., Hollywood, Fla., Exercise Science) had a feast or famine type of day as he placed sixth overall at 197 pounds. He won twice by fall, but was also pinned twice himself.
Speaking of falls, 165-pounder Steven Skewes (Fr., Duchesne, Utah, Exercise Science) as well as heavyweights Branson Bottorff (Fr., Mackinaw, Ill., Mechanical Engineering) and Maxwell Diaz (So., Miami, Fla.) all managed one each at the Championships.
In addition to Eads, William Penn is hoping to earn a few more national berths as the coaches around the NAIA deliberate wild cards in the upcoming days.
The NAIA National Championships will be held on March 5-6 in Park City, Kan.
