WHEATON, Illinois -- Ferrum College finished fourth at the prestigious Pete Willson-Wheaton Invitational, held Friday and Saturday, January 28-29, at the Wheaton College's Chrouser Sports Complex.
The Panthers had two wrestlers make it to the finals, including senior Braden Homsey, who won the 197-pound title in dominating fashion.
TEAM SCORES
1. Wisconsin-Eau Claire 136; 2. John Carroll 100; 3. Millikin 92.5; 4. Ferrum 87; 5. Wisconsin-Stevens Point 76.5; 6. Wisconsin-Whitewater 74; T7. Cortland State 71.5; T7. Chicago 71.5; 9. Wisconsin-Platteville 71; 10. Messiah 70.; 11. Mount St. Joseph 67.5; 12. Wheaton 61.5; 13. Cornell 59.0; 14. Ozarks 57.5; 14. Mount Union 57.5; 16. Ohio Northern 47; 17. Roanoke 45.5; 18. Heidelberg 45; 19. North Central (IL) 44; 20. Buena Vista 34.5; 21. Elizabethtown 27.5; 22. Nebraska Wesleyan 26; 23. Concordia (WI) 22.5; 24. Elmhurst 18.5; 25. Augustana 15.5; 26. Milwaukee School of Engineering 10.5; 27. Defiance 10; 28. Case Western Reserve 9; 29. Muskingum 4; T30. Adrian 0; T30. Alma 0; T30. Olivet 0; T30. Otterbein 0; T30. Pacific (OR) 0; T30. Trine 0
THE BASICS
The Panthers had four wrestlers qualify for second-day action, including finalists JD McMillin at 125 pounds and Braden Homsey at 197 pounds. McMillin injury defaulted and placed second, while Homsey posted an impressive 18-5 major decision in the title match over University of Chicago's Danny Lingen.Homsey was simply outstanding in the tournament, posting a pin, a technical fall, a major decision and two decisions.
Also wrestling today were Levi Englman at 141 pounds and Rayshawn Dixon at 285 pounds.
Englman opened the day with a 54-second pin over University of Wisconsin Whitewater's Dakarai Clay, before losing by fall to #2 seed Josiah Gehr of Messiah College. He then lost 3-2 to host Wheaton's Ethan Renager and finished sixth.
Dixon started the day off with a 3:53 pin over Elmhurst University's Dylan Waller, then fell 5-0 to Heidelberg University's Jace Grossman. In his final match, Dixon lost by fall to Millikin University's Brayan Reyes to place sixth.
STOUT FIELD
Ferrum placed ahead of six ranked NCAA Division III programs (team tournament rankings): #2-ranked North Central University, #9 University of Mount Union, #12 Mount St. Joseph University, #21 University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, #24 Wisconsin Whitewater and #25 Messiah. The three teams that placed ahead of Ferrum are also ranked: team champ #15 Wisconsin-Eau Clair, runner-up #25 John Carroll University and 3rd-place #19 Millikin.
PIN TO WIN
In Friday's first day of action, six of Ferrum's individual wins were by pin. With Englman and Dixon each registering a pin today, Ferrum collected a total of eight pins on the weekend, scoring valuable points and allowing the Panthers to post the fourth-place finish. Dixon led the charge with three pins, while Englman decked two opponents. Christian Hite at 157, Colt Oliver at 174 and Sam Slate at 184 each registered a pin.
FERRUM BY WEIGHT
125: JD McMillin 3-1, RUNNER-UP
133: Trent Proctor 0-2
141: Levi Englman 4-3 (2 pins), 6th place
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 4-0, CHAMPION
285: Rayshawn Dixon 4-3 (3 pins), 6th place
BEHIND THE WHISTLE
"Very proud of this team because our effort and attitude was outstanding at this event. Even in matches we lost our guys were wrestling and fighting for points until the last whistle. This type of team effort and grind for bonus points was why we were able to secure a 4th place team finish. Put 4 on the podium with 2 6th place finishes, a finalist and a champion. Love this team." --Head Coach Logan Meister
UP NEXT
Meister's matmen will be back in action Saturday, February 5, at the Southeast Wrestling Conference Championships. Ferrum claimed five SEWC Tournament titles in a row from 2016-20. The event was not held in 2021. Averett University will host this year's SEWC in Danville, Virginia.
