Muskegon, Mich. – The Trine University men's wrestling program opened the 2021-22 season with a bang with six student athletes reaching the podium at the Ben McMullen Open hosted by Muskegon Community College taking place on Saturday, Nov. 6.
In the 125-pound weight class a pair of student athletes competed for the Thunder. Freshman Tristan Vaughn (Lafayette, Ind. / Harrison) picked up a win in the consolation bracket after an opening round loss. Classmate Bryce Timm (Battle Creek, Mich. / Harper Creek) on the other hand won his two first matches by decision (9-2) and major decision (13-5) to advance to the finals of the weight class, earning a second-place finish for the team.
Sophomore Jett Boots (Angola, Ind. / Angola) was the lone competitor in the 133-pound weight class for the team. He won three straight matches to earn a spot in the first-place match as well. His first match was technical fall victory (16-0), the second a major decision (15-1) and the third a pin (3:53). He dropped a close contest in the championship match to finish in second place (Dec 6-4).
In the 149-pound weight class sophomore Isaac Hawkins (Fremont, Ind. / Fremont) dropped his opening round, but battled back through the consolation bracket with a technical fall and three pins to earn a spot in the third-place bout. There he dropped a tight contest and would finish fourth.
Freshman Philip Burney (Livonia, Mich. / Detroit Catholic Central) competed in the 157-pound weight class where he won his first match by pin (2:36) before dropping his next two matches to miss out on placing.
Sophomore Ethan Nash (Franklin, Ind. / Franklin Community) competed at the 165-pound weight class where he earned a podium finish for the team. After dropping his opening match, Nash wrestled back to the third-place match with two victories by pin (2:26 and 1:20), a major decision (15-6) and a decision (9-5). He then took home third place with a hard fought 11-9 victory.
A pair of Thunder would finish int the top four at the 174-pound weight class. Sophomore John Browning (Novi, Mich. / Detroit Catholic Central) won his first match 14-2 before dropping to the consolation bracket with a loss in the quarterfinals. After a technical fall (18-0) victory, an advance by injury and a win by pin (2:28), he would find himself in the third-place match where he faced off with the same opponent that defeated him earlier in the day. In a much closer match (Dec 5-1), Browning still came out on the wrong side and would finish the day in fourth.
Senior Owen Conklin (West Lafayette, Ind. / Harrison) won his way straight to the championship match with a pin in the first round (1:14) and technical falls in the quarterfinals (16-0) and semifinals (16-1). He then ran into a strong opponent in the championship match and would finish the day in second.
The top performer in the 184-pound weight class was sophomore Andrew Williamson (Mount Gilead, Ohio / Mount Gilead) who won his first two matches by decision (8-2) and pin (3:00) before falling in the semifinal match. He finished the day with two more victories by pin (5:14 and 5:22) to finish the day in third. Sophomore Ryan Mahoney (Westfield, Ind. / Westfield) finished in sixth after battling back from an opening round loss.
Freshman Joshua Howell (Terre Haute, Ind. / Terre Haute South Vigo) picked up the final podium finish for the team in the 197-pound weight class. He came up with a technical fall victory in the quarterfinals (17-0) and a victory by pin in the semifinals (4:00) before dropping the champion match and finishing the day in second.
The team will look to build on their opening weekend's success when they host the Trine Invitational on Saturday, Nov. 13. The tournament is scheduled to kick off at 9:30 a.m.
