ADA, Ohio – Returning to the mat before heading back to Ohio next week for more matches, the Alma College men's wrestling team traveled to Ohio Northern University for the ONU Invitational on Saturday, December 6th. The Scots had a wrestler win their weight division including a handful of other placers as they scored 79.5 team points to finish sixth overall. 

At 125 pounds, Jushawn Ferrel Jr placed second overall for his division going 3-1 in the tournament. Ferrel opened his day with a matchup against Dakota Phillips from Mount St. Joseph University where he was awarded a victory by forfeit. Advancing along, Ferrel faced off against Marcy Olivo of Otterbein University where Ferrel scored a win by technical fall in 6:15 (19-3). The Scots wrestler then moved on to wrestle against Taveon Moss from Hiram College, winning by decision 7-0, setting him up in the championship match. Wrestling solid all day, Ferrel continued his run against Kurt Mokros from Ohio Northern, battling in a close match going the distance. Ferrel would come up just short in the match decided by decision (8-6) in favor of the host wrestler, placing Ferrel in second at the Invitational. 

Moving onto the 141 class, Jaymes Wildfong placed eighth in the division collecting two wins for the tournament. Wildfong opened the day with a win over Jemil Pace from Ohio Wesleyan University, winning by tech. fall in 2:11 (15-0). Wildfong would score his second win of the day two matches later as he defeated Karson Davis on Ohio Northern, winning by tech. fall once again, 15-0 as well. 

Also wrestling in the 141 Dominic Gumtow came away as the Scots best performer at the Invitational winning the weight class and going a perfect 4-0 on the day. Gumtow opened his tournament with a win by fall in just 31 seconds over Seth Miller of Ohio Northern, followed by another win by fall over Brayden Burelison from Heidelberg University, this time even faster in just 23 seconds. Gumtow added another victory by fall as he defeated Kamren Johnson of Heidelberg in 29 seconds, totaling 1:23 of total wrestling through his first three matches. Gumtow faced off against Casper Caizzo of Ohio Northern in the championship match where he had his closest match of the day winning by decision, 4-3 to take home first place. 

Luke Martin finished in fifth place for the 174-weight class, collecting three wins for the tournament. Martin opened the weekend with a win by tech. fall over John Starusko of Washington & Jefferson University in 6:48 (16-0). Martin then added his second win of the day by fall over Carson Steinmetz of Tiffin University in 6:06. After a couple hiccups, Martin concluded his day with a medical forfeit win over Jonathan Braun from Bethany University, giving him a fifth-place finish for the championship. 

Also finishing in fifth place, Paul Wilson reached the podium in the 197-division collecting four wins throughout the day. Wilson won his first match of the tournament by fall over Paul Stanczak of The University of Olivet in 3:39 before also taking down Khelei Tillman of Heidelberg by decision, 11-6, starting 2-0. Wilson then won his second match by win for the tournament as he defeated Gabriel Enoch of Tiffin in just 36 seconds. Wilson's final win of the afternoon came against Caiden Hooks of Otterbein in the fifth-place match, racking up the points and defeating Hooks by tech. fall in 2:40 (21-6). 

Douglas Braidwood also scored a victory during the afternoon, his first of his collegiate career. 

Scots wrestling will now have several days before returning to Ohio for the Berg Holiday Duals, hosted by Heidelberg, on Saturday, December 13th. Matches are set to begin at 9:00 AM.