MU Wrestling pins at Findlay Open Nov. 17

Lauren Abbott, Editor-in-Chief

On Nov. 17, the Mercyhurst Lakers took to the mat at the Findlay Open. This follows the season opener on Nov. 11 at the Ohio Intercollegiate Open where the Lakers had seven members place at the event.

Redshirt sophomore Jacob Robb placed second in the Open 285 weight class while sophomores Eric Bartos and Gavin Wilkerson took third in the Open 125 and 174 weights respectively.

At the event, Robb had a 4-1 record, with two pinfalls and a major decision win during the day. Bartos held a 3-1 record for the event, starting the day with back-to-back matches. Bartos defeated Gannon’s Jacob Dunlap 3-2 to take third place. Wilkerson also went 3-1 with a pin in the third place match at 1:56 over Lake Erie’s Tyler Orrison. Three other Lakers also placed at the Open.

Freshman Michael Clark placed fourth in the Open 149 weight class. Redshirt junior Logan Grass placed sixth at 165, and sophomore Aidan Burke placed eighth in the Open 133 weight class.
The Lakers will be back on the mat again this weekend, Nov. 30 against Millersville University at Millersville in their first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) match of the season.

The Lakers are feeling optimistic ahead of the PSAC competition this year. Junior Zach Breeden is very positive about the team’s outlook this year. “I personally think we can win the conference this year,” said Breeden.  Last year, the Lakers placed fifth overall in the PSAC championship. Lock Haven University was the winner of that competition.

The Lakers’ first home competition of the 2018-19 season is Jan. 6. That competition is the Mercyhurst University Tri-meet, in which the Lakers host Lake Erie College and East Stroudsburg University. Most Lakers will still likely be on break for that, but you can catch the Lakers wrestling squad for the first time second semester in their Jan. 25 meet against Kutztown University.