Case Western Reserve University graduate student Mitchell Arch of the Spartan wrestling team achieved a career milestone and advanced to the second day of the historic Pete Willson-Wheaton Invitational on Friday at the King Arena in Wheaton, Illinois.

Arch became the 14th wrestler in program history to reach 100 career wins, achieving the feat after his third victory of the day. The graduate student from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, finished the first day of competition with a 4-1 record, improving to 101-51 (.664) for his career. The seventh-ranked wrestler at 165 pounds in the Central Region, Arch has won 31 matches at that weight class in his career, 24 matches at 157 pounds, and 46 matches at 149 pounds. He also won three matches by pin on Friday, increasing his career total of falls to 79 and his Division III-leading total of falls this season to 22.

Arch started the day with a pin in 57 seconds, defeating Chance Cole of Millikin to advance to the second round. Following a loss to the third-ranked wrestler in the Upper Midwest Region, he needed three consecutive wins in the consolation bracket to continue wrestling on Saturday. Arch began the consolation rounds with a pin in 1:08 over Ferrum's Mateo Villalobos and followed with a pin of Cortland's Hunter Hughes in 3:41 to reach the 100-win milestone. In the fourth consolation round, Arch faced Robert Flege and reached the third period with the score tied at 12. Starting on the bottom, he earned two points from a reversal with just 28 seconds remaining on the clock and secured a six-point advantage with a near fall just 20 seconds later. Flege could only manage an escape in the final seven seconds, adding a point with the riding time advantage to give Arch an 18-14 decision. The Spartan wrestler will face Roger Deck of Mount St. Joseph in the consolation quarterfinal to start competition on Saturday.

In the 184-pound bracket, junior Aidan Gassel, ranked sixth in the region, went 3-2 on the day, reaching the fourth consolation round before picking up his second loss. After falling in his first match of the day, Gassel won back-to-back bouts by technical fall, his third and fourth technical falls of the season. He bested his first opponent 17-0 in 4:04 and his second 20-4 in 7:00. In the third consolation round, Gassel earned his fourth pin of the campaign and the 10th of his career, defeating Sean King of host Wheaton in 1:35. However, he lost in the fourth consolation round to end his time at the invitational.

Sophomore Art Martinez, ranked third in the Central region at 141 pounds, was the third Spartan to reach the fourth consolation round but could not advance to the second day, finishing his time at the meet with a 3-2 record. He started the competition with a 16-1 technical fall in 3:14, his team-leading eighth of the season, but lost in the second round to drop to the consolation bracket. Martinez responded with back-to-back pins, defeating Heidelberg's Drew Miller in 6:07 and John Carroll's Americo Milani in 4:13 to remain in the bracket. The pins were his seventh and eighth of the season and the 19th and 20th of his career. However, Martinez fell at 7:00 in his final match of the day.

At 149 pounds, junior Calvin Cai, ranked eighth in the Central Region, split four matches, earning a pin and a win by technical fall. He defeated his first opponent of the day, Caleb Magruder of North Central, by pin in 2:13. It was his third pin of the season and the 10th of his career. After suffering a loss, Cai rebounded with a 22-6 technical fall win in 5:21, his fifth of the season. However, a 6-0 loss by decision in the third consolation round ended Cai's day.

First-year Simon Bishop also went 2-2 on the day, picking up two pins at 174 pounds. He began the day with a win in 1:39 over Heidelberg's Nathan St. Bernard, his fifth pin of the year. Following a loss, Bishop defeated Scott Lallas of Rhode Island in 3:26 to advance to the third consolation round and pick up his sixth pin of the campaign. However, he fell in a hard-fought 3-2 decision to conclude his time at the invite.

Sophomores E.J. Alizio¸ Thomas Wagner, Keith Heineman, and Jacob Gregg each won a match before being eliminated. Alizio, Wagner, and Heineman won by pin, the seventh of the season for Alizio, second for Wagner, and third for Heineman.

CWRU ended the first day of competition 13th out of 32 schools in the team standings with 43.0 points. The University of Wisconsin at La Crosse and University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire are tied for first place with 88.0 points.

The two-day invitational concludes tomorrow with wrestling beginning at 12 p.m. ET.