ANGOLA, Ind. -- The Trine University men's wrestling team hosted their first event of the season with the Trine Invite. The team finished with a handful of strong finishes in the tough competition.
A pair of 125-pound student athletes finished top-five in the event. Freshman Tristan Vaughn (Lafayette, Ind. / Harrison) finished fifth in the class, after battling back from an opening round loss. He picked up a win by decision in the opening round of the consolation bracket and a win by pin in the next round. Then he picked up a 10-6 decision in the fifth-place match.
Finishing in fourth for the team was freshman Bryce Trimm (Battle Creek, Mich. / Harper Creek). Following a opening loss, he battled his way back to the third place match on the back of two decisions (8-2 and 7-2). He then dropped the third-place match to finish in fourth.
Also coming up with a fifth-place finish for the team was sophomore Isaac Hawkins (Fremont, Ind. / Fremont) in the 149-pound weight class. Hawkins needed a tiebreaker but he came away with an opening win 9-8 and then won by decision in his second match 10-3. A pair of losses in the championship semifinal and then the consolation bracket semifinal moved him into the fifth-place match where he came away with an 8-4 victory.
In the 165-pound weight class sophomore Ethan Nash (Franklin, Ind. / Franklin Community) finished sixth. He started with a pin in his first match (2:17), before dropping his second match and heading to the consolation bracket. There he picked up a pair of wins by decision (5-3 and 9-7). He would then drop the semifinal and fifth place matches to finish in sixth.
The final wrestler to place for the team was senior Owen Conklin (West Lafayette, Ind. / Harrison) who came in fourth in the 175-pound weight class. He opened the day with a 18-0 technical fall victory followed by a pin in his second match at just the 45 second mark. He then dropped a match before winning three straight in the consolation bracket with a major decision (13-2) and a pair of pins (1:01 and 4:50). He dropped his final match of the night to finish fourth.
The team will travel to the Comet Duals hosted by Olivet College in their next competition. That event is set to start at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 20.
