WHEATON, ILL. -- The Trine University wrestling team traveled to Wheaton, Ill. to take part in the annual Pete Wilson Invitational hosted by Wheaton College and finished in a tie for 24th after the conclusion of the two-day event.
The Thunder finished with 26.5 team points and tied Buena Vista (Iowa) University for 24th place out of 34 teams.
Freshman Anthony Eberle (Huntertown, Ind./Carroll) started off the 125-pound bracket with a pin against Tyler Laudick from Nebraska Wesleyan University in a time of 3:43, but would fall in his next match to drop to the consolation portion of the bracket. Eberle then won his next two matches, both by pinfall, starting with a time of 2:46 to beat Ryan Shumaker of MacMurray (Ill.) College and advanced to take on Eric English from Elmhurst (Ill.) College and pinned his opponent in a time of 2:47. In his next match, Eberle lost by a tech fall (16-0) for a 3-2 mark.
In the 149-pound bracket, junior Nevan Freestone (Frankfort, Ind./Clinton Prairie) rallied from a major decision defeat in his opening bout with back-to-back wins by decision in the consolation bracket. His first victory came against Cortez Bradley from Defiance (Ohio) College by a score of 12-10 and then posted an 8-7 win against Chase Haehnie of Mout St. Joseph (Ohio) University. His tournament ended in his next matchup by a late pin to finish with a 2-2 record.
Sophomore Owen Conklin (West Lafayette, Ind./Harrison) posted a 2-2 record in the 165-pound bracket which he began with a pin against Zach Mason of Muskingum (Ohio) University in 59 seconds. Conklin was pinned in his next matchup, but then rallied with another victory by pin in his next match, this time against Chris Anderson from the University of Mount Union (Ohio) in a time of 6:06. In his final match, Conklin was defeated by tech fall, 19-2.
Senior Nick Miller (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider) also had a multiple-win effort that started with a 15-2 major decision against Frankie Faasen from Augustana (Ill.) College. His other victories included a pin in a time of 4:17 against Daniel Alonzo (Nebraska Wesleyan) which he followed up with an 8-3 decision against Ohio Northern University's Connor Kwiat before falling in his next match by a 7-4 decision to end the competition with a 3-2 record.
Fellow senior Luke Carver (Sturgis, Mich./Sturgis) got off to a strong start in the 184-pound bracket with a 17-0 tech fall against Tristan Faworski (Mount St. Joseph) and then needed just 33 seconds to pin his next opponent, Dylan Roth (Heidelberg (Ohio) University), but then lost by pin in his next bout. In the consolation bracket, Carver suffered another defeat by pin to finish with a 2-2 record.
Senior Zach Saylor (Anderson, Ind./Anderson) rounded out the Trine competitors with multiple wins that included a 3-1 decision against Marvis Hood from Muskingum to begin his competition in the 285-pound bracket. After falling to the consolation bracket by way of a pin in his next match, Saylor rebounded with a 3-2 decision against Defiance's Rigo Villa. In his final match, Saylor was pinned to wrap-up the event with a 2-2 record.
Trine will travel to North Manchester, Ind. for its final dual match of the season against Manchester University on Thursday, Feb. 13. The meet is slated to start at 7 p.m.