Jonathan Bowen
After the Thanksgiving Break, the Westminster Wrestling team appeared to be mostly healed up from any early season nagging injuries and ready to hit the road this weekend at the Drury Open in Springfield, Missouri. The Westminster Blue Jays, along with nearly 30 other teams (including unattached wrestlers) spent the bulk of the day on Saturday wrestling for a shot at the podium at this tough pre-Christmas event.
Drury, being NCAA Division 2, attracted mainly other Division 2 schools including the #2 Ranked Central Oklahoma University and #22 Ranked Central Missouri University (Warrensburg). All of the other divisions, including NJCAA and NAIA were also represented at this event.
Highlights:
Overall, the Westminster Blue Jays had 2 wrestlers reach the podium, Henry Warfel at 125 lbs. (5th place) and Austen Wetzel at 184 lbs. (6th place). They scored 6 pins and 3 tech fall victories throughout the tournament to go along with their 10 other match victories.
Warfel would cruise into the semi-finals with three consecutive pins (including 2 in the first period) before losing via tech fall to Israel Borge. One of his pins was against a Regional and Conference opponent from Lyon. After losing his semi-final and consolation semi-final matches, Warfel ended the day on a positive note with a victory in the 5th-place match over his opponent from Drury.
Austen Wetzel, looked like he was going to continue his undefeated season after a first-round bye and a very convincing opening round 17-4 major decision over his Division 2 opponent from Northeast Oklahoma. His quarterfinal matchup would be against a returning NCAA Division 2 All-American from Central Oklahoma. His opponent would use quick and precise attacks to pummel Wetzel 19-3 sending Austen to the consolation side of the bracket for the first time this season. Austen Wetzel would rebound in the blood round to reach the consolation semi-finals. He would then lose two consecutive matches to finish the day 2-3 and in 6th place. His record on the season has improved to 11-3, which is currently the team’s individual best….
