The Fred Johnson Duals, hosted by Augustana (Rock Island, Illinois) has been a consistent event on the Westminster Blue Jays’ schedule for the past few seasons, mainly due to the number of SLIAC and Regional opponents they could find at this event. Entering the event, several teams (including Westminster) have wrestlers currently ranked at or near the top of their respective weight classes at the regional level. Eureka (Ill.) has three ranked wrestlers, Augustana has five ranked wrestlers, and Westminster with two ranked wrestlers.
Westminster experienced a roller coaster day with 2 losses and 2 wins as a team in the duals. Their two wins were against Eureka and Triton, while they lost to the host Augustana and Division 2 School, Quincy. However, despite those two losses, there were a few individual accomplishments that accumulated throughout the day for the Blue Jays.
Two of the Blue Jays went 3-1 on the day. The first being junior Michael Roberts, who continued his winning ways by pinning 3 of his four opponents (2 in the first period), bringing his record up to a respectable 8-5 (all 8 of his wins are by pin). The second was freshman Aidyn Merchant who also picked up two bonus point wins on the day, while losing one match, which leaves him with a 7-8 record. The lone undefeated Blue Jay on the day was sophomore Austen Wetzel. Wetzel would score three bonus point wins on the day and improve his season record to 12-2.
Below is the livestream link if you want to watch any of the duals on replay.
http://youtube.com/@augieathletics/streams
Up Next:
The Westminster Blue Jays will be on the road again next weekend but a lot closer to home. On Saturday, January 11th, they will travel to St. Louis for the Dr. Tom Smith Invitational, hosted by Missouri Baptist University. Currently there are a total of 15 teams scheduled to attend the event. While it is hosted by an NAIA school, there are several DIII teams in attendance, including Quincy, Lyon and Fontbonne. This will give the Westminster men’s team an opportunity to earn some seeding criteria for their upcoming Regional and Conference tournaments. .
After that, the Blue Jays are on the road again for a dual against SLIAC opponent Fontbonne on January 16th, and another tournament on January 18th. Their next home dual will be on January 22nd vs. William Woods.
Below are the individual match results from each of the four duals Westminster took part in on Saturday January 4th.
Round 1: Augustana 34, Westminster 12
125 | Jack Reina (Augustana (IL)) over Isaac Gawronski (Westminster) (Dec 9-4) | ||
133 | Sam Deyro (Augustana (IL)) over Henry Warfel (Westminster) (Fall 0:40) | ||
141 | Wyatt Cooley (Westminster) over Will Taylor (Augustana (IL)) (Dec 10-5) | ||
149 | Michael Rodriguez (Augustana (IL)) over Jonathan Roberts (Westminster) (Fall 2:48) | ||
157 | Michael Macias (Augustana (IL)) over Michael Roberts (Westminster) (Dec 14-7) | ||
165 | Jack Patting (Augustana (IL)) over Brendon Marquess (Westminster) (MD 10-1) | ||
174 | Aidyn Merchant (Westminster) over Jack Miller (Augustana (IL)) (MD 13-3) | ||
184 | Austen Wetzel (Westminster) over Jaxson Hicks (Augustana (IL)) (TF 17-2 1:58) | ||
197 | Jacob Badger (Augustana (IL)) over Unknown (For.) | ||
285 | Clay DeBaillie (Augustana (IL)) over Michael Carpenter (Westminster) (Fall 2:43) |
Round 2, Eureka 21, Westminster 30
125 | Isaac Gawronski (Westminster) over Unknown (For.) | |||
133 | Isaac Smith (Eureka) over Henry Warfel (Westminster) (TF 18-3 4:03) | |||
141 | Gaige Owens (Eureka) over Wyatt Cooley (Westminster) (Fall 1:58) | |||
149 | Nathan Berta (Eureka) over Jonathan Roberts (Westminster) (MD 14-3) | |||
157 | Michael Roberts (Westminster) over Colton Davis (Eureka) (Fall 1:14) | |||
165 | Brendon Marquess (Westminster) over Alex Muhammad (Eureka) (Dec 12-8) | |||
174 | Aidyn Merchant (Westminster) over Tyren Moore (Eureka) (Fall 1:09) | |||
184 | Austen Wetzel (Westminster) over Unknown (For.) | |||
197 | Cole Harrell (Westminster) over Thomas Culp (Eureka) (Dec 12-5) | |||
285 | Jacob Kaminski (Eureka) over Michael Carpenter (Westminster) (Fall 0:49) |
Round 3, Quincy 29, Westminster 13
125 | Brian Farley (Quincy) over Isaac Gawronski (Westminster) (MD 13-5) | ||
133 | Damien Flores (Quincy) over Henry Warfel (Westminster) (MD 13-2) | ||
141 | Sabian Russell (Quincy) over Wyatt Cooley (Westminster) (TF 15-0 2:51) | ||
149 | Zachary Harrington (Quincy) over Jonathan Roberts (Westminster) (MD 12-2) | ||
157 | Michael Roberts (Westminster) over Hunter Vernon (Quincy) (Fall 3:33) | ||
165 | Jackson Jones (Quincy) over Brendon Marquess (Westminster) (Dec 5-1) | ||
174 | Aidyn Merchant (Westminster) over Aaron Taylor (Quincy) (Dec 11-7) | ||
184 | Austen Wetzel (Westminster) over Callan Ivy (Quincy) (MD 17-6) | ||
197 | Maxim Ryner (Quincy) over Cole Harrell (Westminster) (Dec 11-6) | ||
285 | Caleb Groff (Quincy) over Michael Carpenter (Westminster) (Fall 0:34) |
Round 4, Triton 21 vs. Westminster 27
125 | Andre Giurini (Triton College) over Isaac Gawronski (Westminster) (Fall 0:22) | |||
133 | Henry Warfel (Westminster) over Unknown (For.) | |||
141 | Keygan Jennings (Triton College) over Wyatt Cooley (Westminster) (MD 16-5) | |||
149 | Jonathan Roberts (Westminster) over Jose Casas (Triton College) (Fall 2:06) | |||
157 | Michael Roberts (Westminster) over Jase Salin (Triton College) (Fall 0:42) | |||
165 | Brendon Marquess (Westminster) over Andrew Mulay (Triton College) (Fall 1:31) | |||
174 | Mustafa Salimi (Triton College) over Aidyn Merchant (Westminster) (TF 21-6 2:35) | |||
184 | Double Forfeit | |||
197 | Austen Wetzel (Westminster) over Ghee Rachal (Triton College) (Dec 10-3) | |||
285 | Ryan Boersma (Triton College) over Thomas Tempest (Westminster) (Fall 1:46) |