OLIVET, MICH. -- The Trine University men's wrestling team competed at the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Individual Championships hosted by Olivet College in Olivet, Mich.
Highlighting the day was a second-place finish by junior Owen Conklin (West Lafayette, Ind./Harrison) in the 165-pound weight bracket. Conklin posted a 3-1 record, capturing all three of his matches in "pool play" to advance to the championship match. Conklin won all three of his matches by technical fall by the scores of 17-2, 22-4 and 17-0. He advanced to the title match where he squared off against Derick Duvall from Adrian (Mich.) College, but fell by an 8-6 decision to earn runner-up status.
Other top performances on the day were a pair of 2-1 efforts by freshmen Ethan Nash (Franklin, Ind./Franklin) and Jacob Shaver (Columbus, Ind./Columbus East) at 157 pounds. Nash's two victories came via a 3-2 decision and an 11-1 major decision, while Shaver recorded a pin against Adrian's Ethan Garcia (3:13) and then pinned Owen Atienza of Alma (Mich.) College in a time of 52 seconds. After posting identical records, Nash and Shaver would have faced each other in the third-place matchup.
Sophomore Matthew Abraham (Seven Hills, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) and freshman Jacob Jackson (Toledo, Ohio/Toledo Central Catholic) also finished with a 2-1 mark competing in their individual weight classes. Abraham wrestled at 197 pounds and posted a 9-2 decision and a pin against Devlen Kuschel from host school Olivet in a time of 2:18. Jackson also had a pin for one of his victories on the afternoon that came in a time of 5:39 against Adrian's Mason Slocum. His other win was a 5-3 decision against teammate Jacob Garrett (Colfax, Ind./Clinton Prairie). Both wrestlers earned spots in their respective third-place matches with 2-1 records.
Trine is scheduled to compete in a dual match against Wabash (Ind.) College on Saturday, Feb. 6 in Crawfordsville, Ind. The match is set to start at 2 p.m.