MUSKEGON, Mich. – The Trine University men's wrestling team traveled to the Ben McMullen Open hosted by Muskegon Community College to open their 2022-23 season and will return home with five podium finishes.
The first finish of notes came in the 133 weight class where Joey Langeman and Thomas Miller met in a final match to determine who would finish third in the bracket. Miller won his quarterfinal match by a 9-6 decision before falling in the semifinals. He won another decision in the consolation bracket semifinals.
Langeman dropped his opening match and then won his way through the consolation bracket to reach the semifinal. He needed three wins which came by pin, by decision and by major decision to reach the podium deciding match. Langeman got the better of his teammate with a pin in the opening minute to take third place.
In the 141 weight class Jett Boots was the member of the team to earn a podium spot. Boots won his opening match with a pin in the sixth minute then advanced the semifinals with a major decision. Another major decision moved him to the championship match. There he fell in a close match to finish second in the bracket.
Lakin Webb began the 157 weight bracket with a win by pin to move to the quarterfinals before falling by major decision. He then worked his way back through the consolation bracket with two straight pins and a major decision to reach the third-place match. There he posted his fourth pin of the day to finish in third.
In the 165 weight bracket Ethan Nash posted three straight victories to reach the championship match. It began with a win by decision before a first minute pin moved him to the semifinal where another decision got him to the final. There he came up just short in a 3-2 decision to finish with a silver medal.
The final podium finish for Trine came from Andrew Williamson in the 184 weight class. He opened the day with a pin before advancing to the semifinal match with a 18-0 technical fall. He posted a quick pin in to advance to the championship bout, where he would fall to finish in second.
The team will look to build on their early success when they take the mats at home on Saturday, November 12 for the Trine Invitational Tournament. The event is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. and will be hosted in the ARC facility.