Greco-Roman Wrestling Competes at U23 Nationals
GENEVA, Ohio - Doane's Greco-Roman Wrestling team, competing under the Tiger Wrestling Club (TWC), turned in a strong showing at the U23 Greco-Roman National Championships in Geneva, Ohio, highlighted by three podium finishes and multiple All-America placements against many of the nation's top age-group wrestlers.
Leading the way for TWC was Shane Sherrill at 63 kg, who advanced to the championship match to earn a runner-up finish. Sherrill opened the tournament with a technical fall over Marciellos Coste before adding a 12-3 technical fall over Colin Higgins in the quarterfinals and a 9-0 technical fall against Brady Baker in the semifinals. He finished second nationally after falling to Pierson Manville in the championship bout.
At 67 kg, Gavin Weichelt earned a national runner-up finish after putting together one of the tournament's strongest performances. Following an opening technical fall over Tony Wood, Weichelt advanced with an 8-0 technical fall over Otto Cate-Cribari before defeating Ethan Mitchell by 10-2 technical fall in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Weichelt posted a 6-2 decision over Noah Manuel Tapia to reach the finals, where he finished second following a loss to Carter Stephenson.
Jayden Tadeo-Gosal added a podium finish at 97 kg, placing third. After opening with a 6-0 decision over Geoffery Freeman, Tadeo-Gosal dropped a narrow 4-3 decision in the quarterfinals before making a strong consolation run. He recorded technical falls over Jackson Blackburn and George Rhodes, pinned Christopher Murphy in the consolation semifinals, and capped the tournament with a 10-4 decision over Kasey Ross in the third-place match.
Ray Ray Harris narrowly missed the podium at 55 kg, placing fourth after advancing to the third-place match. Harris opened with an 11-0 technical fall over Gavin Bradley and added victories over Anthony Alanis, Easton Mull and Davian Guanajuato in the consolation bracket before falling in the bronze-medal match.
Marquis Deloach secured a fifth-place finish at 72 kg after battling through the consolation bracket. Deloach earned wins over Jonathan Malovich, Jonathan Fuller, Keith Smith, Owen Hicks and Griffin Lundeen before defeating Miles Harris by 9-0 technical fall in the fifth-place match.
Isaac Gibbs placed seventh at 55 kg, rebounding after a quarterfinal loss with victories over Gavin Bradley and Easton Mull to close the tournament.
Alec Robeson also finished just shy of a podium placement at 82 kg, placing fourth after advancing to the third-place match. Robeson posted wins over Garran Leffel and Antony Tuttle before rallying through the consolation bracket with four consecutive technical falls to reach the placement bout.
David Burchett added an eighth-place finish at 72 kg after advancing to the quarterfinals and later winning a consolation quarterfinal match over Anthony Bahl by fall. Ruben Karapetyan advanced deep through the consolation bracket at 87 kg with four victories to earn eighth-place as well.
Several additional TWC wrestlers recorded tournament victories in Geneva. Tyler Khoundet earned a first-round fall at 67 kg, Ned Kauffman won three consolation matches at 67 kg, Jake Prudek reached the quarterfinals at 77 kg, Jonathon Morrison picked up wins at 82 kg, Elias Timms earned victories at 130 kg, Kingjames Perry won three matches at 72 kg, Gavin Smith recorded two wins at 72 kg, Dustin Duette-Hall picked up an opening-round victory at 77 kg, and Carter Stephenson competed in the 67 kg round-robin bracket.
The strong overall performance showcased TWC competitors against a nationally elite field in one of the premier Greco-Roman events of the summer season.
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