By Harrison LaLone, Sports Information student assistant

Nashville, Tenn. - The Alma College wrestling team made its way to the volunteer state to compete in the Gator Boots Duals, hosted by Luther College (IA) on Saturday (Dec. 16). The Scots went 1-2, and earned their first dual victory of the season over Lakeland University (WI).

Sophomore Brendan Ladd (Ortonville, Michigan/Brandon) had his winning streak of 16 matches snapped in the first dual of the day, facing Millikin University's (IL) Chris Williams in the 141-pound match. Williams entered the match ranked second in the nation in the latest D3wrestle.com poll, while Ladd was ranked sixth.

What Happened

• After falling to Williams of Millikin, Ladd earned victories in his other two matches by pinfall, finishing each opponent in nearly two minutes.
• Senior Aaron Parr-Besemer (Berkley, Mich./Berkley) captured the lone match victory for the Scots in the dual with Millikin, taking an 11-4 decision over Carlos Garza at 133 pounds. Parr-Besemer carried his momentum over into the next dual, defeating Jimmy Spencer of Lakeland by a 10-3 margin.
• At 149 pounds, sophomore Jake Anderson (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Adams) went 2-1 with victories over Ian Giocchini of Lakeland and Cody Roland of Thomas More College (KY). Anderson won both matches by six or more points.
• Freshman heavyweight Austin Popp (Clinton, Mich./Clinton) earned his second fall of the season on his way to a 2-1 record, pinning Ronald Balazs of Lakeland in 3:19. Popp also posted a 5-0 decision over Joseph Marino of Thomas More.

Notables

• Brendan Ladd's season record now moves to 23-3, including eight victories by pinfall.
• Austin Popp's one loss was to Myron Hamilton of Millikin, one of Millikin's three wrestlers to appear on the latest D3wrestle.com poll. Both Hamilton and Bradan Birt entered the day as honorable mentions in their respective weight classes.
• Aaron Parr-Besemer was bumped up to the 133-pound weight class for the Gator Boots Duals, the first competition of the season he has wrestled out of the 125-pound class.
• The Gator Boots Duals has been a featured competition in NCAA Division III for 12 years. Initially called the Gator Duals, the event originated in Orlando in 2006 and moved to New Orleans in 2011 before settling in Nashville in 2013.

Up Next

The Scots will take a one-week break for the holidays before traveling to the University of Chicago for the Chicago Duals, which will take place on Saturday, Dec. 30. Competition is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. EST.

Results

#20 Millikin University (IL) 45, Alma College 3

125 - Brandon Muselman (Millikin) over Austin Wieczorek (Alma) (MD 9-1)
133 - Aaron Parr-Besemer (Alma) over Carlos Garza (Millikin) (Dec 11-4)
141 - #2 Chris Williams (Millikin) over #6 Brendan Ladd (Alma) (Dec 10-7)
149 - Bradan Birt (Millikin) over Jake Anderson (Alma) (Fall 0:56)
157 - Blake Tisza (Millikin) over Gus Richter (Alma) (Fall 0:36)
165 - Jake Tisza (Millikin) over Richie Scroggins (Alma) (Fall 2:10)
174 - Austin Hedrick (Millikin) over Austin Fox (Alma) (Fall 0:33)
184 - Evan Patterson (Millikin) over Wesley Barnes (Alma) (TF 21-6)
197 - Keajion Jennings (Millikin) over (Alma) (Forfeit)
285 - Myron Hamilton (Millikin) over Austin Popp (Alma) (Dec. 11-4)

Alma College 33, Lakeland University (WI) 15

125 - Austin Wieczorek (Alma) over (Lakeland) (Forfeit)
133 - Aaron Parr-Besemer (Alma) over Jimmy Spencer (Lakeland) (Dec 10-3)
141 - #6 Brendan Ladd (Alma) over Nathan Sleik-Vidmar (Lakeland) (Fall 1:52)
149 - Jake Anderson (Alma) over Ian Giocchini (Lakeland) (Dec 14-7)
157 - Gus Richter (Alma) over Mason Ksioszk (Lakeland) (Dec 6-4)
165 - Paul Ladd (Lakeland) over Richie Scroggins (Alma) (TF 16-1 2:45)
174 - Austin Fox (Alma) over Matthew Gonzalez (Lakeland) (Fall 3:21)
184 - Taylor Gilardi (Lakeland) over Wesley Barnes (Alma) (MD 15-6)
197 - Michael Grabe (Lakeland) over (Alma) (Forfeit)
285 - Austin Popp (Alma) over Ronald Balazs (Lakeland) (Fall 3:19)

Thomas More College (KY) 32, Alma College 12

125 - Jimmy Murphy (TMC) over Austin Wieczorek (Alma) (Dec 3-2)
133 - Brady Wells (TMC) over Aaron Parr-Besemer (Alma) (Dec 10-4)
141 - #6 Brendan Ladd (Alma) over Parker Buschelman (TMC) (Fall 2:08)
149 - Jake Anderson (Alma) over Cody Roland (TMC) (Dec 15-9)
157 - Jimmy Traub (TMC) over Gus Richter (Alma) (TF 19-2 4:20)
165 - Gunnar Dawson (TMC) over Richie Scroggins (Alma) (Fall 4:10)
174 - Andrew Taylor (TMC) over Austin Fox (Alma) (Dec 7-4)
184 - Avery Jones (TMC) over Wesley Barnes (Alma) (Fall 1:00)
197 - James Caniglia (TMC) over (Alma) (Forfeit)
285 - Austin Popp (Alma) over Joseph Marino (TMC) (Dec 5-0)