WHEATON, Illinois -- The Ferrum College men's wrestling team is in fifth place in a field of 35 teams at the 2022 Pete Willson-Wheaton Invitational, held at Wheaton College's Chrouser Sports Complex.
The event is annually one of the toughest tournaments in the nation. Two Ferrum wrestlers advanced to the semifinals and another two are fighting through the back bracket, with all four having earned spots on the podium.
TEAM SCORES
1. Wisconsin-Eau Claire 78.5; 2. John Carroll 70.5; 3. Millikin 65; 4. Cortland State 56; 5. Ferrum 55; 6. Wisconsin-Stevens Point 53.5; 7. Chicago 52; 8. Messiah 51.5; 9. Wisconsin-Whitewater 50.5; 10. Cornell (Iowa) 5; 11. Wisconsin-Platteville 46.5; 12. Ohio Northern 42.5; 12. Ozarks 42.5; 14. Mount St. Joseph 40.5; 14. Wheaton, IL 40.5; 16. Mount Union 39.5; 17. North Central 35; 18. Heidelberg 32; 19. Roanoke 27.5; 20. Buena Vista 26; 21. Elizabethtown 24.5; 22. Concordia (WI) 19; 23. Elmhurst 18.5; 24. Nebraska Wesleyan 14.0; 25. Augustana 13.5; 26. Milwaukee School of Engineering 10.5; 27. Defiance 10.0; 28. Case Western Reserve 9.0; 29. Muskingum 4.0; 30. Adrian 0
THE BASICS
JD McMillin in the 125-pound weight class to advance to the semis. He opened with an 8-6 win over Roanoke College's Mac Cafurello, then beat Wisconsin Stevens Point's Luca Paladino 6-4. McMillin then posted a 17-6 major decision in the quarterfinals over Justin Brown of North Central University.
Seeded #1 at 197 pounds, Braden Homsey opened with a 15-0 technical fall over Reid McNeill of Concordia University (WI), then posted a 10-3 win over University of Mount Union's Warren Gentile. In the quarterfinals, he beat University of Mount St. Joseph's Nathanie Armstrong 10-3 to clinch a spot in Saturday morning's semifinals.
Two other Ferrum wrestlers earned podium spots by battling through the back bracket and are still in contention for third place. Levi Englman suffered a heartbreak overtime loss in the quarterfinals at 141 pounds, but bounced back and will wrestle Saturday morning in the consolation quarterfinals. Rayshawn Dixon fell 9-7 in the quarterfinals to the top seed at 285 pounds, but also bounced back with a win in the back bracket and will also wrestle in the consolation quarterfinals Saturday morning. Dixon posted two pins today.
Ferrum's 5th-place standing was made possible by some strong performances by five wrestlers from the 149 through 184 weight classes, including three who posted pins. Tyler Ramirez went 1-2 at 149, Christian Hite went 3-2 with a pin at 157, Elijah Martin went 2-2 at 165, Colt Oliver went 1-2 with a pin at 174, and Sam Slate went 1-2 with a pin at 184. In all, the Panthers recorded six falls, including Dixon's two pins and one from Englman.
FERRUM BY WEIGHT
125: JD McMillin 3-0, semifinalist
133: Trent Proctor 0-2
141: Levi Englman 3-1 (1 pin), consolation quarterfinalist
149: Tyler Ramirez 1-2
157: Christian Hite 3-2 (1 pin)
165: Elijah Martin 2-2
174: Colt Oliver 1-2 (1 pin)
184: Sam Slate 1-2 (1 pin)
197: Braden Homsey 3-0, semifinalist
285: Rayshawn Dixon 3-1 (2 pins), quarterfinalist consolation
BEHIND THE WHISTLE
"We performed well in the first day at Pete Willson. I think we are starting to peak at the right time. Solid showing so far with going into the second day of the tournament with two in the semis and two in the wrestlebacks." --Head Coach Logan Meister
DAY TWO ACTION
Meister's foursome of McMillin, Englman, Homsey and Dixon will be back in action for day two Saturday, starting at 9:00 a.m. Meister is no stranger to the Pete Willson Wheaton Invitational, having won 157-pound titles in 2016 and 2017. He was also the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler in 2017.
