ALMA, MICH. -- The Trine University wrestling team finished sixth at the Mid-States Invitational hosted by Alma (Mich.) College in Alma, Mich.
The Thunder finished with 37.5 team points to place sixth of 12 teams. Wabash College finished as team champion with 210 points and was followed by host school Alma in second with 129.5 points. Olivet (Mich.) College rounded out the top three teams with 120 points.
Individually, Trine had a trio of wrestlers post a pair of victories on the day in freshmen Owen Conklin (West Lafayette, Ind./Harrison), Chase Gibson (Bronson, Mich./Bronson) and junior Nick Miller (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider).
After receiving a bye to begin his day at 165-pounds, Conklin won by major decision, 12-2, in his first match against Tristan Faworski from Mount St. Joseph University. He then fell by pin in his next match, but won his next match with a pin of his own in the consolation bracket where he defeated Otterbein (Ohio) University's Dylan Gray in a time of 1:45. The win set up a bout with Frank Mercurio of Olivet, but Conklin fell on the losing end of a pin (1:01) to end his day with a 2-2 mark.
Miller also received a bye to start off his 174-pound bracket and then pinned Defiance (Ohio) College's Shannon Legge in a time of 1:45 to advance to face Olivet's Nicholas Worden. Miller fell short against Worden, dropping a 9-5 decision, but rebounded in his first match of the consolation bracket with another pin. This time, Miller pinned Hunter Stoffer from Otterbein in a time of 2:34 and improved to 2-1 on the day. In his next bout, Miller faced Cade Girgenti from Wabash and was pinned in a time of 4:27 to finish the tournament with a 2-2 record.
After an impressive pair of matches earlier in the week where he recorded two pins, Gibson started off the Mid-States Invitational with yet another pin, this time against Alex Dague of Wabash in his first match of the 197-pound bracket in a time of 1:49. He then dropped to the consolation bracket via a slim 6-5 loss to Alma's Austin Popp who he pinned earlier in the week in a dual meet. Gibson then went on face James Lewis from Wabash and won by a 7-6 decision to improve to 2-1 on the afternoon. In his next bout against Heidelberg (Ohio) University's Austin Smith, Gibson fell by a final score of 8-6, ending his tournament and posting a 2-2 record.
Up next for the Thunder will be the NCAA Division III Central Regional Meet on Friday-Saturday, Feb. 22-23 at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind.