FINDLAY, Ohio -- The Lake Erie wrestling program traveled to Findlay, Ohio this weekend to compete in the Findlay Open. Three wrestlers placed in the event with
Christian Small taking fourth at 141,
Braden Hahlen fifth at 125 and Matthew Kauffman eighth at 157.
Small started the day off with back-to-back wins by fall. His first match took him just 1:20 to complete and his second finished at 3:34. After an 8-3 decision win, Small went on to face the 2022-23 133 lbs National Champion, Gavin Quiocho in the quarterfinals match. Small made it look easy and took down Quiocho, 8-0 by major decision. In his semifinals match, Small would lose via injury and force him to medically forfeit the third place match, finishing his day with a fourth place finish.
Hahlen began things at 125 with a 13-7 decision win. He then fell by major decision in his next matchup, but came back in a big way and won his next three, two of which came by tech fall. In the consolation semifinals, Hahlen defeated Glenville State's Colton Drousias by a 9-4 decision and took fifth place with a no contest win in the next round.
Kaufmann, one of Lake Erie's newest wrestlers, competed at 157 and won by tiebreaker 3-2 in his first match. He then lost a close sudden victory match in his next competition, and then went on a tear, winning his next three with two coming by fall, including a victory over conference opponent Zander Graham from Ashland in 4:37. During the seventh-place match Kaufmann fell 4-2 by decision and finished eighth on the day.
Egidio DiFazio finished the day with a 3-2 record, with a win coming by major decision and another by fall (4:46).
Anthony Sagaris (133),
Jordan Rodriguez (125),
Thomas Potter (157),
Vincent Scaramuzzino (174),
Carsen Richards (141), and
Quinn Gorman (197) all finished with an even 2-2 record each.
The Storm will be back in action, Saturday, November 23rd on the road for their first dual meet of the season. They will face a strong opponent in #8 Gannon University on the road at 2 p.m. in Erie, Pennsylvania.
