MUSKEGON, Mich. – Opening the 2025-26 season on the first day of competition, the Alma College men's wrestling team traveled west to the lakeside city of Muskegon to compete in the Ben McMullen Open, hosted by Muskegon Community College. The Scots had four wrestlers place on the podium in their season debuts along with Carter Melonio finishing atop the bracket in the 165-pound division.
Melonio claimed the top spot in his weight class with a perfect 4-0 record on the day, with all four wins coming by fall en route to the first-place finish. Melonio opened his season with a match against Carter Bradburn of The University of Olivet, where he was able to pin Bradburn in 1:39 and advance along in the bracket to the quarterfinals. Melonio found easy work for his next battle as he faced off against Jetson Rodgers Jr from Southwest Michigan College, defeating him by fall in just 27 seconds. Advancing to the semifinals. Melonio took the mat against Jair Hernandez from Ohio Valley Community College, where again it took Melonio less than a minute to win his bout (0:48). Moving through the bracket unscathed, setting up a finals match against Fegley Zephyr from host Muskegon Community College, Melonio found his toughest match of the day. Melonio still found himself on the right side of the scoring as he was again able to pin Zephyr in 2:31, giving him a first-place finish to open his junior season.
Placing third for the Scots with a 4-1 record in the 125 weight division was Jushawn Ferrell Jr. Ferrell Jr opened his Saturday with a win by major decision over JJ Lucinski from Niagara Community College, winning 15-4. Ferrell Jr then scored his next victory over Phillip Stone-Tyler from host MCC by tech fall, with the score finishing 22-6. Taking his only setback of the day, Ferrell Jr lost a close match against Jaron Barrientos from Niagara by decision with a final score of 4-0. In the consolation bracket, JJ bounced back with a major decision win over Nathan Mielke (Bryant & Straton College), scoring 14 to Mielke's six, advancing him to the third-place bout. In his final match of the day, a nail-biting contest saw Ferrell Jr come out with a hard-earned victory with a score of 3-2 over Jimmy Thommen from host MCC, placing the Scots wrestler in third for the tournament.
Another Scots wrestler finishing on the podium was Luke Martin, who finished in second place in the 174-pound bracket with a record of 2-1. Martin opened the tournament with a bye before facing off against Othniel Honablue from The University of Olivet, where Martin was awarded a win by fall in 4:16. Martin then faced off against Zachary Clark of Bryant & Straton in the semifinals, where Martin was able to rack up the points and win by decision in a high scoring match of 18-13. Martin's lone loss of the day would come in the finals against Juwan Vines from Olivet where he was defeated by tech fall, 19-4.
The final Scots wrestler to place for the tournament was freshman Pul Wilson, finishing third in the 197 division. Wilson also opened his collegiate career with a win over Cohen Schmidt of Bryant & Stratton, making easy work in a win by fall in just 37 seconds. Wilson would suffer a setback in the second round, losing by fall to Gideon Loewen from Olivet, sending him to the consolation bracket. Wilson bounced back with a win over Konnor Lauria from the University of Michigan-Club, again winning by fall in 1:42. Wrestling in the third-place match, Wilson took the mat against Andrew Baldwin from MCC, where Wilson was able to hold Baldwin scoreless and notch a victory by major decision with a score of 8-0, giving him the third-place honors.
Other Scots wrestler to collect victories on the day included Jaymes Wildfong, who finished 2-2 for the tournament, and Waylon Lamkin, who recorded his first collegiate victory in his first match of the day.
Alma will now have a week before taking the mat again which will be on Saturday, November 8th, as they compete at the Trine Invitational, hosted by Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association member Trine University. Matches are set to begin at 9:30 AM on Saturday in Angola, Indiana.
