DES MOINES, Iowa – SIUE wrestlers claimed three titles at the season-opening Grand View Open Saturday.
Newcomer John Fahy won the open 149-pound weight class. Jake Tindle was victorious in the 197-pound open weight class. Jake Residori, competing as an unattached wrestler, captured the 174-pound weight class in the open division.
"All three wrestled well," said SIUE Head Coach Jeremy Spates. "They were finding ways to score a lot of points, which is something we have talked about a lot."
Nine SIUE wrestlers in total finished among the top six in the open division. Three Cougars were place winners in the freshman division.
"We had wrestlers with different skills levels so it was good to open the season with a tournament," said Spates. "Our young guys wrestled well so we were happy with that."
Fahy used a pin and two technical falls en route to the finals. He won the title by injury default when William Penn's Scottie Bonds was unable to wrestle.
Tindle picked up back-to-back pins at 197 and won the title with a 4-3 win over unattached Matthew Hurford.
Residori, who has won more than 20 matches in each of the last three seasons for the Cougars, won his weight class with a 14-3 major decision over North Dakota State's Tyler Harrington.
Derek Nagel (184) and Chris Johnson (HWT) advanced to the finals in their respective weight classes and finished second overall. Troy Gassaway placed second in the freshman division 125-pound weight class.
Spates said he saw a number of technical errors from the Cougars.
"Overall we saw some fixable things," he said. "This was a good tournament for us to build on."
Below is a complete list of SIUE place winners.
Freshman
125 - Troy Gassaway (2nd)
125 – Joe Antonelli (4th)
149 – Tyshawn Williams (unattached) (4th)
Open
141 – Angelo Silvestro (5th)
149 – John Fahy (1st)
149 – Karsten Van Velsor (5th)
157 – Nate Higgins (6th)
174 – Jake Residori (unattached) (1st)
184 – Derek Nagel (2nd)
197 – Jake Tindle (1st)
HWT – Chris Johnson (2nd)
HWT – Jake McKiernan (3rd)
