McKendree Men Win Back-to-Back Midwest Classics
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Dec. 15) – The McKendree University men’s wrestling participated in the two-day 41st Annual Midwest Classic this weekend in Indianapolis, where they defended their first-place title. The Bearcats scored 131.5 team points and three individual champions.
Along with first-place finished from Marcus Povlick (Plainfield, IL/Plainfield North), Nick Foster (Belleville, IL/Belleville West) and Ryan Vasbinder (Grand Rapids, MI/Grandville), Juwan Edmond (Bellwood, IL) made his debut as a Bearcat and placed sixth, Nate Smalling(Belleville, Ill./Belleville West) placed seventh, Caleb Gossett (St. Charles, MO/Francis Howell Central) Placed third, and Qian’te Wagner (Alton, Ill./Alton) and Michael Aldrich(Ballwin, MO/Parkway South) placed eighth in their respective weight classes.
Below are the individual results from Day 2:
125-lb. bracket:Marcus Povlick (Plainfield, IL/Plainfield North) headed into the semifinals with a 3-0 record where he would off against Tanner Cole of University of Central Oklahoma. Povlick’s 3-2 decision defeat over Cole sent him into the finals, where he would face Patrick Allice of Western Colorado University. Povlick defeated Allis in a 2-0 decision and placed first. Povlick had an overall 5-0 record on the weekend.
149-lb. bracket:Juwan Edmond (Bellwood, IL) headed into day two of the consolation bracket with a 2-1 record and would face off against Brady Mattida of Ouachita Baptist University. Edmond’s 3-2 decision victory over Mattida advanced him to face off against Tyler Stegalll of Maryville University. Edmond defeated Stegall in a 6-1 decision and advanced into the semifinals. Edmond faced off against Josiah Rider of Adams State College and was defeated by fall at 1:48. Edmond continued his fight in the tournament as me faces off against Dominic Mena of Gannon University in the 5th place match. Edmond was defeated in a 7-3 decision and placed sixth. Edmond had an overall 4-3 record on the weekend.
157-lb. bracket:Nate Smalling (Belleville, Ill./Belleville West) started off day two against Tyler Makosy of UNC-Pembroke with a 2-1 record. Smalling defeated Makosy in a sudden victory (SV-1 7-5) and advanced to face off against Austin Palmer of Newberry College, and was defeated in a major decision (Maj 12-4). Smalling advanced into the match to compete for the 7th place title against Tanner Sparks of Maryville University. Smalling battled with Sparks and won in a tie breaker (TB-1 3-2) and placed seventh. Smalling had an overall 7-5 record on the weekend.
165-lb. bracket:Nick Foster (Belleville, IL/Belleville West) started off day two with an undefeated 3-0 record to face off against Alex Farenchak of Gannon University in the quarterfinals. Foster’s 5-4 decision defeat over Farenchak advanced him to the finals against Logan Grass of Mercyhurst College. Foster defeated Grass in a 4-1 decision and placed first. Foster had an overall 6-0 record on the weekend.
174-lb. bracket:Qian’te Wagner (Alton, Ill./Alton) entered the consolation bracket with a 4-1 record to face off against Gleason Mappes of University of Indianapolis. Wagner defeated Mappes in an SV-1 7-5 decision, to advance to face off against Bret Heil of Maryville University. Wagner was then defeated by Heil in a 13-9 decision. Wagner advances to face off against Caleb Spears of Newberry College in the 7th place match. Wagner was defeated for a medial forfeit but placed eight. Wagner had an overall 5-3 record on the weekend.
184-lb. bracket:Michael Aldrich (Ballwin, MO/Parkway South) had a 3-1 record going into day two of the tournament. His first opponent was Aryus Jones of Fort Hays State and won by forfeit. Aldrich advanced to face off against Bailey Kelly of Maryville University and was defeated in a 6-3 decision. Aldrich still had a chance to compete against Brandon Sloop of UNC-Pembroke for the 7th place title. Aldrich was defeated in a 4-2 decision to Sloop and placed eighth. Aldrich had an overall 4-3 record on the weekend.
197-lb. bracket: Ryan Vasbinder (Grand Rapids, MI/Grandville) took his 4-0 record into day two of the tournament to face off against Elijah Seay of King University. Vasbinder’s win by medical forfeit advanced him to the finals to face off against Matthew Rudy of Limestone College. Vasbinder won a 6-1 decision over Rudy and placed first. Vasbinder had an overall 5-0 record on the weekend.
Heavyweight bracket:Caleb Gossett (St. Charles, MO/Francis Howell Central) entered the consolation bracket with a 3-1 record to face off against Gavin Nye of CSU-Pueblo. Gossett’s 9-5 decision victory advanced him to face off against AJ Cooper of Fort Hays State. Gossett defeated Cooper in an 8-2 decision and advanced him to the semifinals for the 3rd place title. Gossett faced off against Weston Hunt of Colorado School of Mines and won by medial forfeit. Gossett placed third and an overall 6-1 record on the weekend.
This was the last competition of the calendar year for the Bearcats. They will be back in action, along with the women’s team, for the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) National Duals. The teams will be traveling to Louisville, Ken., Jan 10-11.-McK-