Statesmen Fare Well at Central Invite
William Penn University Athletics
Pella–A half dozen William Penn wrestlers reached the finals to highlight a very successful day at the Central Invitational Saturday.
The Statesmen won two of the five weights in which they had a finalist, including Lane Colwell (So., Knoxville, Iowa, Computer Science) at 141 pounds and Jay Fresh (So., Knoxville, Iowa, Sociology) at 165 pounds.
Fresh won all three of his matchups, including two by fall, for the 165-pound title.
Colwell had a much shorter day, winning his first match by technical fall to advance to the championship match. He then received a forfeit from teammate Joao Vicente (So., East Providence, R.I., Secondary Education) to take the crown.
Vicente, one of four runner-up finishers, was 1-0. 157-pounder Charlton Benjamin (Jr., Atlanta, Ga., Sociology) was 2-1 with one fall, while 174-pounder Ishmael Rempson (Jr., Olympia Heights, Ill., Industrial Technology) and 197-pounder Kyle Soderblom (Jr., Newton, Iowa, Biology) both had even 1-1 marks. Soderblom collected a fall for his victory.
Four bronzes were tallied, led by 133-pounder Trey Busick (Fr., Pleasantville, Iowa, Industrial Technology) and 149-pounder Angelo Kelly (So., Ottumwa, Iowa, Physical Education). Each grappler owned 3-1 marks Saturday.
141-pounder Brad Watson (So., Rolla, Mo., Physical Education) pinned his way to each of his two wins, while 174-pounder Nick Wise (So., Phoenix, Ariz., Biology) claimed a fall and major decision for third place.
Four other Statesmen came up on the short end of the third-place matches. 133-pounder Aaron King (Fr., Hedrick, Iowa) made his navy and gold debut with a 2-2 day (one major decision), while 149-pounder Blake Rogers (Jr., Scottsdale, Ariz., Sociology) notched a fall en route to being 2-2.
Heavyweight Mark Gadson (Jr., Deerfield Beach, Fla., Physical Education) was 2-2 as well, while Joe Sumner (Sr., Delaware, Ohio, Physical Education) earned a victory at 184 pounds.
Next: William Penn travels to Lamoni Tuesday to face Graceland in dual-meet action at 7 p.m.
