MANCHESTER, Ind.—Sophomore Chris Osborne (McComb) went 3-0 and claimed the 141-pound individual championship to lead the Heidelberg University wrestling team to a seventh-place finish today at the Spartan Classic hosted by Manchester (Ind.) College in North Manchester, Ind. The Student Princes tallied 110.5 points among the 10-team field.
Osborne defeated OAC foe Austin Nelson (Ohio Northern University) with a 12-1 major decision in the first round, then scored a 6-4 decision over Wayne Black of The College of Mount St. Joseph to move onto the finals, where he won by medical forfeit.
In the 285-pound weight class, freshman Tyler Smith (Calhoun/Sonoraville) and senior Jerry Knapp (Columbia Station/Olmsted Falls) came in second and fourth, respectively. Smith won his first three matches with two decisions and a pin to advance to the finals, where he fell, 12-4, to Manchester College’s Jimmie King. Knapp also won his first three matches by major decision, pin and decision to advance to the semifinals, where he also lost to King in a 9-2 decision. Knapp collected another pin in his next match, but bowed out to Michael Pezzuto in the third place match.
Sophomore 165-pounder Jake Cochran (West Jefferson) and junior 197-pounder Andy Lovins (Clinton Township, Mich./Lake Shore) each finished in third place for the Berg. Despite losing his first match of the day, Cochran came back to pin Justin Meineke of MSJ in 2:40 and recorded a 12-3 major decision over Tyler Ray of MSJ in the third-place match. Lovins won two straight matches by decision and major decision, respectively, before suffering a pin in the championship bracket semifinals. He came back to take a 6-1 decision against Andrew Simpson of Olivet (Mich.) College and a 15-0 technical fall over Dylan Mahler of North Central (Ill.) College.
Sophomore 125-pounder Delian Schieder (Tiffin/Columbian) came in sixth place, recording a decision and major decision.
University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) claimed the team title, with MSJ, Manchester, Olivet and North Central rounding out the top five.
The ‘Berg grapplers return to the mat Saturday, Jan. 21 when they will compete in the Alma (Mich.) College Open.
