By Harrison LaLone, Sports Information student assistant

Manchester, Ind. - The Alma College wrestling program took a reduced group to the Mid-States Invitational, hosted by Manchester University, on Saturday, Feb. 10. Five of the seven Scots placed in the top eight of their respective weight classes. Alma as a team finished eighth of 10 scoring 55.5 points in the meet.

What Happened

• Sophomore Jake Anderson (Rochester Hills, Mich. / Rochester Adams) claimed third in the 149-pound class going 3-1, by way of a first-round pin, and two tight decisions.
• Senior Aaron Parr-Besemer (Berkley, Mich. / Berkley) recorded a 9-0 major decision before eventually falling in the third-place match of the 125-pound weight class.
• Also at 149 pounds, Senior Daniel Sayfie (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Grand Rapids Catholic Central) took sixth in the class, going 3-2, recording two pinfalls of his own.
• Freshman Austin Wieczorek (Kentwood, Mich. / East Kentwood) took two well-contested decisions on his way to an unfortunate 2-1 loss in the second extra period of the fifth-place match of the 125-pound weight class.
• Freshman Erik Arnegard (Waterford, Mich. / Waterford Mott) earned his first top-eight finish of the season at 165 pounds in the competition.

Notables

• Of the 12 individual victories for the seven Scots, five were via pinfall, two by Sayfie and freshman Gus Richter (Durand, Mich. / Durand), and one by Anderson.
• Jake Anderson's quarterfinal match was the third time he and Adrian's Noah Nieman have squared off. Anderson is 2-1 in this matchup this season, dropping the first match at the North Central Invite on Dec. 9, then taking an 18-6 major in the dual with Adrian on Feb. 2.

Up Next

The Mid-States Invitational signals the conclusion of the 2017-18 wrestling regular season. The NCAA Regionals are scheduled to begin on Feb. 23.

Individual Results

125 - Aaron Parr-Besemer - Fourth Place (1-2)

Champ. Rd. 1 - Parr-Besemer (Alma) receives BYE
Quarterfinals - Parr-Besemer (Alma) by major decision over Galvan (Manchester) (9-0)
Semifinals - Nier (Wabash) by tech. fall over Parr-Besemer (Alma) (16-1)
3rd Place Match - Transue (ONU) by tech. fall over Parr-Besemer (Alma) (16-0)

125 - Austin Wieczorek - Sixth Place (2-2)

Champ. Rd. 1 - Belden (Wabash) by decision over Wieczorek (Alma) (3-2)
Cons. Rd. 1 - Wieczorek receives BYE
Cons. Rd. 2 - Wieczorek (Alma) by decision over Galvin (Manchester) (7-3)
Cons. Semifinals - Wieczorek (Alma) by decision over Pecoraro (Trine) (6-2)
Fifth Place Match - Cavanaugh (Wabash) by decision over Wieczorek (Alma) (2-1 TB2)

149 - Jake Anderson - Third Place (3-1)

Champ. Rd. 1 - Anderson (Alma) by pinfall over Duzzny (Otterbein) (1:08)
Quarterfinals - Anderson (Alma) by decision over Nieman (Adrian) (15-12) <REMATCH x2
Semifinals - Andrews (ONU) by major decision over Anderson (Alma) (13-2)
Third Place Match - Anderson (Alma) by decision over Stephenson (Wabash) (12-11)

149 - Daniel Sayfie - Sixth Place (3-2)

Champ. Rd. 1 - Sayfie (Alma) by pinfall over Maus (Olivet) (1:15)
Quarterfinals - Stephenson (Wabash) by decision over Sayfie (Alma) (8-4)
Cons. Rd. 2 - Sayfie (Alma) by pinfall over Duzzny (Otterbein) (3:35)
Cons. Semifinals - Sayfie (Alma) by decision over Gelinski (Adrian) (9-4)
Fifth Place Match - Nieman (Adrian) by decision over Sayfie (Alma) (7-5)

157 - Gus Richter (2-2)

Champ. Rd. 1 - Richter receives BYE
Champ Rd. 2 - Phillips (Manchester) by pinfall over Richter (Alma) (2:15)
Cons. Rd. 2 - Richter (Alma) by pinfall over Viasek (ONU) (1:14)
Cons. Rd. 3 - Richter (Alma) by pinfall over Goff (Olivet) (2:41)
Cons. Quarterfinals - Reed (ONU) by decision over Richter (Alma) (7-4)

165 - Erik Arnegard (0-3)

Champ Rd. 1 - Arnegard (Alma) receives BYE
Quarterfinals - Moore (Adrian) by decision over Arnegard (Alma) (5-0)
Cons. Quarterfinals - Arnegard (Alma) receives BYE
Cons. Semifinals - Minear (Trine) by decision over Arnegard (Alma) (6-1)
Seventh Place Match - Koch (Otterbein) by pinfall over Arnegard (Alma) (1:11)

285 - Austin Popp (1-2)

Champ. Rd. 1 - Popp (Alma) receives BYE
Champ. Rd. 2 - Popp (Alma) by decision over Blake (Heidelberg) (5-3)
Quarterfinals - Rieger (Adrian) by pinfall over Popp (Alma) (0:15)
Cons. Quarterfinals - Gierman (Olivet) by pinfall over Popp (Alma) (6:56)