ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Freshman Karsten Van Velsor led the SIUE contigent at the Joe Parisi Open Saturday with a second-place finsh in the freshman-sophomore division of the 149-pound weight class.

"All of our freshmen wrestled well," noted SIUE Head Coach Jeremy Spates.

Trevor Feagans, who was wrestling unattached, used a fall over Daniel Rivera in 5 minutes, 13 seconds, to finish fifth at 141 pounds. Russell Coleman, also wrestling unattached, took fifth at 159 pounds.

Van Velsor started his run with a bye and then pinned unattached wrestler Mark Smith in 2:53. He defeated Peter Tatanish (Liberty) 12-8 and Tyler Sonnabend (Hannibal-LaGrange) 16-10 before dropping a 9-7 decision to Missouri's Blake Pepper.

In the open division, Jake Residori was SIUE's top finisher. The Cougar sophomore won six consecutive matches in the consolation bracket to place third overall. He defeated unattached wrestler Quinton Patterson, of Oklahoma State, 6-4 in the third-place match. Patterson earlier had defeated Residori 5-4 in the second round of the championship bracket.

David Devine placed fourth overall but took a medical forfeit in the third-place match. Devine wrestled five matches on the day, including a technical fall victory over Benedictine's Josh Wilson.

Patrick Myers had to forfeit out his final matches after being injured. He had a strong day and placed sixth overall, including a first-period pin over Andrew Angelbeck of Lindenwood.

"I think we definitely improved over from last week," said Spates. "I feel like we're finding ways to lose matches late, but I definitely saw improvement."

SIUE returns to the Vadalabene Center tomorrow (Sunday) for its regular season home opener. The Cougars face off with No. 20-ranked Purdue.