7 champs at 9 weights still not good enough for Mitchell
By: Alex Peitz
With the situation in Ferguson and the surrounding St. Louis area getting sketchy, Grand View wrestling coach Nick Mitchell decided to send sixteen selected wrestlers to the Coe-Turkey open in Cedar Rapids on Saturday instead of the Lindenwood Open. Out of the nine weight classes represented in his selections (no one competed at 197) Grand View crowned seven champions and had three third place finishes.
Ryak Finch didn’t spend a lot of time on the mat in his first tournament back since winning a national title last March, pinning everybody he met in the middle of the first period to take home the 125 pound bracket. The senior keeps his winning streak going at 32. Hunter Genco didn’t like his 0-2 performance at his first college tournament two weeks ago and so he decided to win the 133 pound bracket in his second. The true freshman found himself down early in the finals against NIACC’s Arsenio Hall but used a take down late in the third to secure the win. RS sophomore Ernie Escobar took 3rd at the same weight. At 141, RS sophomore Derek Miller pinned his way to the final before cruising past Trey Schuler of Coe 6 – 1 in the championship bout. Sophomore Elijah Sullivan won his second tournament of the year at 149, majoring and pinning his way to the final before beating NIACC’s returning JUCO national champ Nosomy Pozo 6 to 2. Senior Nate Stadeker handled Quincy Kalkbrenner 11 to 2 en route to being the champ at 165 while freshman Lawton Benna took 3rd. Senior Thomas Moman beat Joe Harrington of Coe to win it at 174 3-2 in the tightest finals match of the day. Dalton Schutjer wrestled tough at 184 and walked away with 3rd, while heavyweight Dean Broghammer impressed people with easy wins throughout the day.
Winning 70 percent of the finals with only three starters and a handful of young guys still isn’t good enough for Mitchell, responding to the outcome with just, “I wanted 9.” The Vikings next event will be hosting Concordia University at 5 pm in Sisam Areana on Wednesday.