Rios, Cuthbert Make Finals at MVC Open

William Penn University Athletics

Marshall, Mo.–Two Statesmen grapplers reached the finals and two more placed as William Penn competed at the Missouri Valley Open Sunday.

133-pounder Tommy Rios (Fr., Tucson, Ariz., Exercise Science) and heavyweight Matthew Cuthbert (Fr., Yucaipa, Calif., Sociology) both battled for individual crowns, but came up one win shy. Rios finished 2-1 with one fall, eventually being pinned by Colby Watters of Baker in a time of 1:41. Cuthbert snatched three victories prior to also being pinned by MVC’s Gabi Musallam in 3:10.

John Altieri (Fr., Warwick, R.I., Sociology) finished 3-2 at 125 pounds to finish in fifth place, while Fabian Rodriguez (Fr., Manassas, Va., Business Management) was 2-2 with a pair of falls to earn fifth at 141 pounds.

157-pounder Christian Padilla (Sr., Tampa, Fla., Secondary Education) matched Rodriguez with two pins, while 149-pounder Kionte Crocker (So., Brandon, Fla., Industrial Technology), 157-pounder Austinn Goin (Fr., Belton, Mo., Exercise Science), and 174-pounder Joshua Wooten (Jr., Belleville, Mich., Exercise Science) all posted one win via fall at the Open.

Major-decision victories came from Jeremy Andujar (So., Tampa, Fla., Biology) at 133 pounds, Nathyn Sierra (Fr., Griffith, Ind., Sociology) at 184 pounds, and Chris Rodriguez (Fr., Tampa, Fla., Sociology) at 197 pounds.

133-pounder Bryce Castagna (So., Willcox, Ariz., Digital Communication), 157-pounder Logan Loftus (So., Marengo, Iowa, Industrial Technology), and heavyweights Gerardo Suarez (Fr., Salt Lake City, Utah, Industrial Technology) and Mark Gadson (Sr., Deerfield Beach, Fla., Physical Education) also had their raised hands once as well.

Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa Thursday to host Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) in dual-meet action at 7 p.m. It is the home finale for WPU.