ELMHURST, Ill. – The Trine University men's wrestling team came in fifth at the Al Hanke Invitational. Seven members of the team placed at the event, with Nayl Sbay pacing the team with a third-place finish.
The Thunder totaled 88 points in the contest. Chicago University won the event with 144.5 points with the Milwaukee School of Engineering finishing second with 129. Harper College finished third with 98.5 and University Wisconsin-Whitewater was fourth with 94.
Kaden Golder was the first member of the team to place at the tournament, finishing sixth at 125. He won his first match with a 15-0 tech fall before falling to the consolation bracket during the quarterfinals. He won the next two matches, one by tech fall and the other with a major decision, before coming up just short in the fifth-place match.
At 133, Alex LaCava came up with a fourth-place day. In a smaller field, he won his first match with a pin to reach the semifinals. There he dropped a 9-3 decision before falling in the third-place match.
Tommy Miller rounded out the lightweights with a fifth-place finish at 141. He dropped his first match before reeling off three tech fall victories to reach the consolation bracket semifinals. He took that match with a 5-3 decision before winning the fifth-place match 13-7.
Sbay made his run at 174. He opened the day with two tech fall victories to reach the quarterfinals. IN that match he recorded a 16-4 major decision before falling in the semifinals. He won the third-place match by medical forfeit.
At 184, Andrew Williamson came up with an eighth-place finish. He won his first match of the day with a pin before dropping to the consolation bracket with a loss. His next three wins were dominant ones, once by tech fall and the other two with pins. He fell in the consolation semifinals by major decision before winning the seventh place match by default.
Julante Hinton finished fifth in the 197 bracket. He lost his first match, before winning twice, once by fall and the other time by tech fall to reach the consolation bracket semifinals. There he won with a 7-3 decision before taking the fifth-place match 4-2.
The final placer for the Thunder was Davin George at 285. He lost his first match by fall, before winning three times to reach the consolation semifinals. During the stretch he had two decisions and a major decision. He took that semifinal with a 13-7 decision before falling 1-0 in the fifth-place match.
Trine returns to dual match and Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association competition when they travel to face Adrian College on Thursday, January 22. That match is set to start at 7 p.m.
