Led by a first-place finish at 197 pounds from junior Aidan Gassel, the Case Western Reserve University wrestling team finished second out of 13 teams at the Baldwin Wallace Invitational held at the Lou Higgins Center Fieldhouse in Berea, Ohio, on Saturday.
Gassel went 4-0 on the day with two pins to claim the 197-pound bracket. He started the day with a win by fall in 2:10 over Adrian's Trevin Eggleston, then followed the victory with back-to-back decisions in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. In the final, Gassel pinned Jacob Saylor of Trine in 2:47 to finish the day undefeated. He becomes the second Spartan to win a bracket this season, following sophomore Art Martinez's triumph at 141 pounds at the Adrian Invitational. The pins were the first two this season for Gassel.
Overall, the Spartans finished second as a team with 136.5 points, a three-spot improvement over last season's placement at the invitational. Host Baldwin Wallace earned the most points with 212.5, and Trine placed third with 133.5 points.
An additional pair of CWRU wrestlers reached the final of their brackets. At 174 pounds, first-year Mathew Gummere started the day with a 3-0 run, winning two matches by fall and one by technical fall to advance to the semifinal. In that match, he bested Andrew Williamson of Trine in sudden victory, 5-2. However, Gummere lost to Baldwin Wallace's Joseph Petrella to place second. His two pins and technical fall increased his season total to three and two, respectively.
Martinez reached the final of the 141-pound bracket, earning his third win by fall and second by technical fall before prevailing in an 8-4 decision in the semifinal. He placed second after withdrawing due to injury in the final, ending the day with a 4-1 record.
Sophomore E.J. Alizio placed third in the 125-pound bracket with a 4-1 record. He started the day with two consecutive major decisions before dropping a tight 5-4 decision in the semifinal. Alizio rebounded in the consolation semifinal with his second pin of the season, defeating Thiel's Edward McCarthy in 1:29. He then prevailed by decision in the third-place match, 7-1, to win the bronze.
Graduate student Mitchell Arch went 4-1 at 165 pounds to place third in his bracket. He recorded his first technical fall of the season to start the day then pinned James Bettcher of Manchester in 56 seconds to reach the semifinal. After losing by decision, he responded with two more pins, both in under two minutes, to finish third. The final pin of the day was Arch's team-leading ninth of the season and the 66th of his career.
Junior Calvin Cai reached the third-place match of the 149-pound bracket but dropped his bout to place fourth. Cai finished the day 4-2 with a major decision and his first pin of the season.
At 133 pounds, sophomore Jacob Gregg collected a team-high five wins to place fifth. After losing his first match of the day, Gregg won four consecutive matches, including one by pin and one by technical fall, to reach the consolation semifinals. The pin was his second of the season and the technical fall was the first of his collegiate career. First-year Mike Valerino also placed in the bracket, finishing seventh with a 4-2 record. All four of his wins came by fall, increasing his season total to six.
With a 3-2 record, graduate student Stephen Andryc placed fifth in the 197-pound bracket. Andryc reached the semifinal with a pin, his second of the season, and a major decision. After dropping the next two matches, he won the fifth-place bout by decision, 9-2, to earn 13 team points for CWRU.
Sophomore Ari Kefer (125 pounds) and first-year Simon Bishop (174 pounds) each placed seventh in their brackets with identical 4-2 records. Kefer recorded three pins, increasing his season total to four, and Bishop recorded his first career win, first career pin, and first career technical fall. He finished the day with two pins. First-year Louka Babic went 3-2 at 174 pounds with two wins by fall.
After taking a week off for Thanksgiving, the Spartans will return to the mats on Saturday, December 2, for the RIT Invitational in Rochester, New York.
