TIFFIN, Ohio -- The Lake Erie wrestling team traveled this weekend to compete in the Great Midwest Championships. Individually the Storm were very successful.
Ryan Wehner,
Christian Small, and
Jack Haskin would all win individual titles in their weight classes, with Haskin also earning Wrestler of the Meet honors. As a team, the Storm finished third with 89.5 points, right behind Tiffin (102.5), and Ashland (109).
Wehner, who received a first-round bye, took his first match by technical fall (20-5) against Thomas More's Hunter Sproles. In his next match against Tiffin's Cael Woods, he earned a tough 6-5 decision win before taking the 133 championship via a sudden victory against Findlay's Gavin Ritter.
Small came into the G-MAC Championships as the reigning champion at 141. This year he would compete for a title at 149. His first match was against Findlay's Cade Cass. Small pinned him just as time was expiring in the first period to advance to the next round. He would then take down his next two opponents by technical fall (18-1) and major decision (14-2) before advancing to the title match up against Thomas More's Ryan Moore. It wasn't an easy fight, but Small came away with a 9-5 decision win to claim his second straight G-MAC title.
Haskin, who entered the competition with a perfect 12-0 record received a first-round bye and promptly beat his first opponent by major decision (12-1). In his next matchup, he took down Thomas More's Kailan Keith by technical fall (19-0). This would set Haskin up to face Ashland's Drew Wiechers who came into the G-MAC Championships as the #6-ranked wrestler at 157. It was a close, hard fought battle and with time running out, Haskin was down 3-2. With just 10 seconds remaining, he would end up pulling ahead and sealing a 5-3 victory.
In addition to three individual titles,
Carsen Richards (141) and
Jordan Barnett (184) would finish as runner-ups.
Thomas Potter (165), and
Brylan Clouse (197) took home 3rd-place honors while
Anthony Sagaris (125) and
Paul Scaramuzzino (184) finished 4th in their respective weight classes.
The Storm will be back in action on Thursday, February 8th at 6 PM for a home dual meet against #3 West Liberty. This is the first of three-straight home dual meets before NCAA Regionals.
