The Student Newspaper of Westminster Christian Academy

The Wildcat Roar

The Student Newspaper of Westminster Christian Academy

The Wildcat Roar

The Student Newspaper of Westminster Christian Academy

The Wildcat Roar

Westminster Wrestling Invitational

Westminster’s wrestling team took sixth place in the Westminster Invitational on Nov. 30 and Oct. 1. The thirteen athletes on the varsity lineup contributed to three fifth place finishes, one fourth place finish, one third place finish, and one first place finish. The expectations of Tim Muehleisen, head wrestling coach, were met with the team’s exceptional performance.

“I always want to win every match, but to get off to a good start, have things we can learn from, and stay healthy are really good goals at this point which we accomplished,” said Muehleisen.

At the lighter end of the lineup, Joseph Welker, senior, wrestled his way through the 113 pound bracket, ending the night with a pin in the first period to take fifth place. At 127 pounds, Eli Parham, sophomore, took tenth place.

Dominic Franceschelli, junior, took 8th place in the 132 pound weight class. 138 pound Dominic Barresi, senior, won to take fifth place after losing two extremely close matches.

Will Egan, senior, and Clayton Hubler, junior, were placed on opposite ends of the 145 pound bracket. After suffering a hyper extended ankle injury and bloody nose in the second period of his match, Hubler pinned his opponent in overtime to win. However, Hubler was forced to forfeit because of his injury. Egan beat his opponent in order to take fifth place.

Keegan Brown, senior, missed the podium by one place, taking fourth at 152 pounds. His match was followed by Michael Weston and Trent Briden, sophomores, competing in the 160 pound weight class. Both Weston and Briden lost their final matches, Weston taking sixth and Briden taking eighth.

At 170 pounds, Jacob Chimento, sophomore, took seventh place. Brink Thompson, senior, took ninth overall in the 182 pound weight class.

The end of the lineup included senior Bennett Lewis, a returning state medalist at 220 pounds, who wrestled at 195 pounds during the tournament. Lewis took first in his weight class going undefeated throughout the tournament.

Joe Isaacs, senior, wrestled exceptionally winning his match in the finals for third place. David Becker, sophomore, took tenth in the 285 pound weight class.

Although most of the thirteen wrestlers had strong finishes to the tournament, Muehleisen was especially proud of a few specific athletes.

“Joe Isaacs and Keegan Brown had really nice matches. Bennett Lewis finished the tournament really well with a quality win over a quality kid,” said Muehleisen.

The coach’s analysis of the weekend was generally positive, but he did identify key things that needed improvement.

“We need to be able to wrestle faster. We have good technique, but are still slow on the mat,” said Muehleisen.

This year’s invitational was combined with the Maryville invitational in order to create a tournament with both college and high school athletes and fans. Muehleisen’s intention in combining the Maryville and Westminster invitationals was much more than just convenience.

“The purpose of combining Maryville and Westminster was convenience, but also because of the unique opportunity. We don’t think that anyone else in the country is combining high school and college wrestling,” said Muehleisen.

Muehleisen emphasized getting the Westminster wrestling name out.

“We want people to know about Westminster wrestling. We also wanted to create a great opportunity for our wrestlers,” said Muehleisen.

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