Senior Thomas Wagner won the 157-pound bracket at the Tom Jarman Spartan Mat Classic to lead the 23rd-ranked Case Western Reserve University wrestling team on Saturday at Stauffer-Wolfe Arena in North Manchester, Indiana, on the campus of Manchester University.

CWRU placed third out of 17 schools competing at the meet with 127.5 points. Wabash College won the meet with 183.5 points. Wagner was one of 10 Spartans to place in the top eight of their weight classes.

Bracket Winners

• Wagner, 157 pounds
  • 6-0
  • Four falls, technical fall
  • Defeated Andrew Ross of Wabash by fall in 5:00 in the championship, the third of three consecutive pins

Top Placers

• First-year Hunter Keane, third, 141 pounds
  • 4-1
  • Three falls, technical fall
  • Only loss was to Cole Thomas of Division II Thomas More, who won the D2 National Championship in 2024
• Sophomore Chase Crutchley, third, 174
  • 3-1
  • Fall
  • Pinned Layne Settle of Heidelberg in 3:22 in the quarterfinal
• Junior Mathew Gummere, fourth, 184 pounds
  • 3-2
  • Fall
  • Pinned Manchester's Luke Dwyer in 2:48 to start the day, added two major decisions
• Sophomore Robert Minden, fourth, 149 pounds
  • 3-2
  • Fall
  • Pinned Aaron Turner of Ohio Northern in 6:19 in the quarterfinal, his third pin this season
• First-year Cole Rose, sixth, 141 pounds
  • 5-1
  • Technical fall
  • Had two wins by major decision in addition to 24-8 technical fall, the second of his career
• Senior Justin Sweeney, sixth, 165 pounds
  • 4-2
  • Recovered from opening loss to win four consecutive matches by decision, including one in sudden victory
• Senior E.J. Alizio, seventh, 125 pounds
  • 4-2
  • Two falls, two technical falls
  • Two technical falls came by scores of 16-0 with his two pins taking 1:07 and 3:35
• Senior Marty Landes, seventh, 165 pounds
  • 4-2
  • Three technical falls
  • Doubled his total of technical falls this season and increased his career total to 25
• Junior Mike Valerino, seventh, 141 pounds
  • 4-2
  • Fall
  • Pinned Aden Vargus of Joliet Junior College in just 42 seconds, his third pin this season

Notable Achievements

• Senior John Conover won four bouts in the 157-pound bracket, including three by fall
• First-year Nate Boyd recorded a pin among his three wins at 197 pounds
• First-year Alexander Goldman split his four matches at 197 pounds and recorded a win by fall
• Junior Louka Babic earned a win by fall and by technical fall at 174 pounds, his sixth pin and fourth technical fall during the campaign
• First-year Kodi Pfeiffer had a technical fall, his fourth of the season

Spartan Notes

• Wagner won his second bracket this season after a 3-0 performance at the Bob Del Rosa Open on November 9
• Wagner has won 14 consecutive matches, improving to 26-5 this season
• Conover's three pins give him eight this season and 21 for his career
• Boyd's pin was the third of his career
• Goldman recorded his third pin of the season
• Minden recorded his highest tournament placement of the season, placing for the third time his campaign
• Sweeney placed at a tournament for the first time this year
• Alizio increased his career win total to 79 with the four victories

Up Next

The Spartans will return to Cleveland on Friday, January 23 for their final home match of the season, hosting Washington & Jefferson at Horsburgh Gymnasium at 7 p.m. Prior to the dual, CWRU will honor its eight graduating members as part of Senior Night.