ADA, Ohio -- The Trine University men's wrestling team finished in ninth place at the Ohio Northern Invitation with 59.5 team points in the event.
Seven members of the Thunder earned points for the team in the event. Coming in with a high was senior Owen Conklin (West Lafayette, Ind. / Harrison) who finished in fourth place in the 174-weight class. Conklin opened the day with three straight wins to reach the semifinal match of the championship bracket. He tallied technical fall victories in the first two rounds before earning a major decision in the quarterfinals. After a tough loss in the semis he won the semifinals of the consolation bracket by technical fall to earn a spot in the third-place match. Another tough loss gave him the fourth-place finish.
Also, with a strong performance in the 174-weight class was sophomore John Browning (Novi, Mich. / Detroit Catholic Central) who finished seventh. After receiving a loss in the second round, Browning reeled off three straight wins, one by decision and two by pin, to earn the seventh-place finish.
The second highest point getter for the team was sophomore Isaac Hawkins (Fremont, Ind. / Fremont) who started the competition with three straight wins in the 149-weight class to end up in the semifinal match. He would unfortunately drop his next three matches, but finished in sixth after the early success.
Sophomore Andrew Williamson (Mount Gilead, Ohio / Mount Gilead) finished the day with an eighth-place finish to earn 8.5 points for the team from the 184-weight class. In the 141-weight class, sophomore Joseph Langeman (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) earned seven points for the team with three wins, finishing just outside of placing.
Rounding out the counting performances for the team were sophomore Ethan Nash (Franklin, Ind. / Franklin Community) in 165, sophomore Andrew Captain (Bluffton, Ind. / Norwell) in 285 and freshman Bryce Timm (Battle Creek, Mich. / Harper Creek) in 125.
Trine will return to a dual meet format in their next competition when they travel to face Ancilla on Thursday, Dec. 9. The match is set to start at 7 p.m.