Three individual champions help wrestling team win Ohio Northern Invitational

Pederson named Most Outstanding Wrestler

ADA, Ohio – Led by three champions and three runner-up finishes, the Olivet College wrestling team won the team championship (out of 12 schools) today at the 2013 Ohio Northern University Polar Bear Invitational inside the King Horn Arena in Ada, Ohio. The Comets, ranked No. 13 in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) poll, totaled 155.5 points to beat Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) College by 10.5 points. Heidelberg (Ohio) University was third with 126 points, followed by Alma College, 112.5; and West Liberty (W.Va.) University, 103.5.

Senior Gage Pederson (Hastings) captured the championship with a 5-0 record at 149 pounds. He started the day with an 18-4 major decision over Cody Sullivan and then pinned Louis Godines from Mount St. Joseph. After winning two straight decisions, 6-0 over Seth Lansberry from Lycoming and 6-3 over Stephen Myers from Lindsey Wilson, Pederson pinned Isaac Thomas from Lindsey Wilson at the start of the second period of the championship match. For his performance, he was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler.

Junior Kyle Witgen (Romeo) had a 4-0 record to win the championship at 157 pounds. He received a bye in the first round and then won back-to-back 8-2 decisions over Dan Bruni from Waynesburg and Brian Brunner from Heidelberg. Witgen edged Bryan Skoff from West Liberty, 7-5, in overtime of the semifinal match. He then used two takedowns in third period to beat Chase Boyd from Tiffin, 8-6, in the championship match.

Junior Nick Allen (Scotville/Mason County Central) recorded a 4-0 record for a first-place finish at 174 pounds. Following a bye in the opening round, he pinned Josh Jensen from Alma in the second round and shutout Nicholas Manning from Mount St. Joseph, 9-0, in the quarterfinals. Allen defeated Tyler Gargano from Ohio Northern, 7-4, in the semifinals and then scored a reversal in the second period to beat Eric Antesberger from West Liberty, 2-0, in the championship match.

Senior Henry McKeown (Bellevue/Olivet) posted a 4-1 record to finish in second-place at 125 pounds. He won his first match by forfeit and then shutout Jake Witmer from Lycoming, 13-0. McKeown earned an 11-6 win over Jerome Pasquale in the quarterfinals and then beat No. 1 seed Zach Brown from West Liberty, 13-5, in the semifinals. He was edged by Tyler Foley from Alma, 7-6, in the championship match.

Senior Justin Holm (Battle Creek/Harper Creek) went 4-1 to place second at 141 pounds. He claimed two straight decisions, 4-2 over Robert Ritschard from Thiel and 8-4 over Shaun Lee from Ohio Northern, before winning an 11-0 major decision over Ian Gillespie from Heidelberg. Holm shutout Tyler Foley from Alma, 6-0, to advance to the championship match, where he fell to No. 1 seed Wismit Moinius from Lindsey Wilson, 4-1.

Senior Jeff Holm (Battle Creek/Harper Creek) also had a 4-1 record to finish in second-place at 184 pounds. He began with his day with two consecutive pins in 4:30 against Patrick Jennings from Waynesburg and 4:01 against C.J. Bostwick from Heidelberg. Holm beat Greg Wetzel from Lycoming, 14-6 and Cameron Fine from Waynesburg, 5-3. He then was defeated by Jameel Bryan from Lindsey Wilson, 4-3, in the championship match.

At 197 pounds, senior Andrew Simpson (Tecumseh) was fourth with a 3-2 record. His wins were 6-0 over Gage Finegan from Heidelberg, 7-2 over Danny Doyle from West Liberty and 3-1 over Thomas Buckman from Lindsey Wilson. Also placing for the Comets' varsity lineup was junior Dan Fleet (Ada/Lowell), as he had a 3-2 record to finish in seventh at 165 pounds.

The top performance for Olivet's "B" team was turned in by freshman Austin Kelley (Allegan), who was third at 141 pounds. After losing his first match, 17-3, he won six straight matches, all by decision. Three of the wins were decided by one point. Freshman Kyle Gillies (Westland/John Glenn) placed fourth at 125 pounds. He won his first two matches before dropping a close 5-3 decision to Foley in the quarterfinals. Gillies then won three straight matches by decision and then fell to Joe Brodman, 6-5, in the third-match match.

Other placers for the "B" team were freshman Michael Schmidt (Greenville), seventh at 125 pounds; senior Jeremy Ward (Washington Twp./Romeo), fifth at 141 pounds; senior Rocky Cantu (Rives Junction/Jackson Northwest), eighth at 165 pounds; and sophomore Thomas Hall (Fife Lake/Forest Area), fifth at 197 pounds.

Olivet returns to the mats next Saturday, Dec. 14, at the 50th Annual North Central (Ill.) College Invitational. Action starts at 9 a.m. CT.

NOTE: The Comets won the ONU Invitational team title for a third straight year and fourth time in the last six years.