Junior Art Martinez of the Case Western Reserve University wrestling team placed fifth in the 133-pound bracket at the Pete Willson-Wheaton Invitational hosted by Wheaton College at the King Arena in Wheaton, Illinois, following the end of the two-day meet on Saturday.

Martinez, ranked 14th in Division III and fourth in Region V at 133 pounds by the NWCA, began the day by facing Ty Daugherty of John Carroll, whom he defeated earlier in the campaign by decision. Leading 7-0 in the second period, Martinez was able to pin Daugherty to secure his place in the consolation quarterfinals. The pin, his team-leading 10th of the season, was in 4:43.

Facing Wyatt Magolski of Wisconsin La Crosse in the next round, Martinez was taken down late in the first period to trail 3-0. He started the second period on the bottom and escaped to cut his deficit to two points. However, Magolski earned another takedown to make the score 6-1. Martinez escaped before the period ended to earn a second point in the frame, but Magolski escaped to start the third period. With under 30 seconds left in the match, the Spartan wrestler secured a takedown, making the score 7-5. Magolski escaped with just a few seconds left and added a point from riding time to win by decision, 9-5.

In his final match of the day, Martinez faced Jackson Rustad from the University of Chicago, who is ranked sixth in Region V, in a battle for fifth place in the bracket. A minute into the match, Martinez secured a takedown to gain a 3-0 lead. Rustad escaped, making the score 3-1, and the Chicago wrestler picked up another point by escaping 43 seconds into the second period. Martinez took him down again to lead 6-2 and kept his advantageous position for the rest of the frame. Choosing the bottom position to start the third period, Martinez quickly escaped and took down Rustad to take a commanding 10-2 lead. With 71 seconds left, Rustad reversed the position to cut into his deficit, but Martinez escaped within 10 seconds to build his lead back to seven. He earned an additional point from riding time to secure a 12-4 win by major decision and fifth place in the bracket.

As a team, Case Western Reserve placed 22nd out of 30 teams at the invite with 22.5 points. Wisconsin Eau Claire scored 150.5 points to take the team championship.

The CWRU wrestling team will have one final tune-up before the University Athletic Association Championship, traveling to Berea, Ohio, for the John Summa Invitational on Saturday, February 8.

Spartan Notes

• With the two wins, Martinez improved to 29-7 on the season and 95-29 for his career
• Martinez also advanced to second day of competition at the 2023 edition of the invitational
• With former Spartan Mitchell Arch placing eighth at 165 pounds last year, CWRU has had a top eight placer at the Pete Willson Invite in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2014 and 2015 competitions
• Martinez is the first Spartan to place in the top eight at 133 pounds at Wheaton since at least the 2007 edition of the competition (18 years). The fifth-place finish is the best by a CWRU wrestler since David Brunk took fifth at 174 pounds in 2014