Eureka’s Andrew Sims Places Eighth at Lindenwood Open

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Andrew Sims (Heyworth, Ill./Heyworth/Lincoln) placed for the Eureka men's wrestling team again on Saturday, taking eighth place at 165 pounds in the Lindenwood Open. 

The senior, who is ranked in the top 20 in his weight class by d3wrestle.com, won three out of five matches on the day and took down an NCAA Division I wrestler along the way.

Sims opened the day with a 6-1 decision over McKendree's Jordan Alcala, but he got shut out in a 15-0 tech fall by Lindenwood's Gavin Londoff in the second round, sending him to the consolation bracket. In his next match, he turned around and earned a 3-2 decision over Bellarmine's Alex Rivera and followed it with a 3-1 decision over Quincy's Aaron Taylor.

He ultimately lost the seventh-place match against Oklahoma State's Jalin Harper, 10-5.

"I was feeling down after my loss in the second round, but I knew I had to accept it and bounce back," Sim said. "(You've) got to control what you can and let go of what you can't. I focused on getting better and wrestling my way, and ultimately got back to a placing match in a real tough tournament.

"All in all, not a bad day."

Eureka's Gaige Owens (Marion, Ill./Marion/Iowa Wesleyan) came a win away from placing at 133 pounds. He scored an 11-3 major decision over Maryville's Austin Wadlow in the consolation bracket before dropping a 7-1 decision against SIU-Edwardsville's Marcel Lopez.

The rest of the Red Devils competed in the Black division for freshmen and sophomores.

Jake Jozwiak ((Lake Villa, Ill./Grayslake North/Lincoln), Thomas Culp (Quincy, Ill./Quincy/Lincoln) and Bradden Davis (Mount Vernon, Ill./Mount Vernon) each picked up a pair of wins in the Black division, while Nathan Berta (Channahon, Ill./ Minooka/Calumet College of St Joseph) earned one.

"The guys still have a ways to go to get where they want to be, but we saw some steps in the right direction of one of the toughest tournaments we will attend," Eureka wrestling coach Eric Biehl said. "This tournament was D1 and D2-heavy so we saw some great competition. The rest of the season we wrestle mainly a D3 schedule, so we should see more measurable success."

On Sunday, the Eureka women's wrestling team will compete in the Lindenwood Duals. The Eureka men will next be in action at the Wisconsin Parkside Open on Saturday, Dec. 3.