Andrew Sims Placed Sixth at Al Hanke Invitational

ELMHURST, Ill. – Eureka's Andrew Sims (Heyworth, Ill./Heyworth/Lincoln) placed sixth at 165 pounds at the Al Hanke Invitational on Saturday.

The EC men finished 11th out of 18 teams overall with 42 points. Eight Red Devils captured team points for the maroon and gold on the day. 

Sims picked up two wins. He first seized a 9-3 decision over Concordia Minnesota's Rhett Hudoba. Then, after dropping a 9-3 decision against Wisconsin-Lacrosse's Elijah Lucio, he bounced back with a 6-2 decision over Wisconsin-Lacrosse's Piersson Czaplinski. He eventually moved onto the fifth-place match, where Stevens Point's Brandon Peckham got the edge in a 3-2 decision.

Nathan Berta (Channahon, Ill./Minooka/St. Joseph of Calumet) and Dominic Tenayuca (Algonquin, Ill./Jacobs/Lincoln) both finished eighth at 141 and 149, respectively.

Berta had a strong day in a deep field at 141 pounds, picking up four wins and scoring a team-high 10 team points. He opened with a first-period fall over Steven Point's David Hughes. He was then sent to the consolation bracket after getting pinned in the second period by Wisconsin-Lacrosse's Sam Lorenz.

After that, he picked up three straight wins, advancing with a medical forfeit, a first-period pin over Elmhurst's Troy Mock and a 20-5 tech fall over Carthage's Cole Nelson. His run came to an end with a 19-2 tech fall loss against Concordia's Cade Lundeen in the consolation final.

Tenayuca notched four wins, opening with a 17-8 major decision over Concordia-Minnesota's Brady Kasprick in the championship bracket and scoring a fall over Concordia Chicago's Frank Budederi in 2:07, a 14-5 major over Concordia-Minnesota's Alex Backes and a 9-3 decision over Concordia-Minnesota's Aidan Ruddy. Ryan Fleck of Chicago earned a first-period fall over Tenayuca in the consolation final.

"The tournament was a tough, long day," EC coach Eric Biehl said. "Many others competed very well and were a match away from being in the placing rounds. There's only a few competitions left to tighten up the areas we need to before we compete to qualify for nationals. This tournament was a good steppping stone."

At 125 pounds, Jake Jozwiak (Lake Villa, Ill./Grayslake North/Lincoln) went 3-2 with three falls and scored eight team points. He started with a pin in 6:43 against Millikin's Cameron A. Lee. He later earned back-to-back pins in the consolation bracket against Chicago's Matt Perez and Concordia Chicago's Devin Gore in 2:47 and 4:46, respectively.

At 133, Gaige Owens (Marion, Ill./Marion/Iowa Wesleyan) went 2-2 on the day, including notching a second-period fall over Wheaton's Matthew Au before getting injured in the next round of consolations.

Thomas Culp (Quincy, Ill./Quincy/Lincoln) scored two major decisions and one decision at 184. He majored Joliet Junior College's Oscar Villalbobs, 16-2, in the championship round and majored Wheaton's Hunter Kazmierczak, 11-3, in the consolation bracket. He also bested Wisconsin-Whitewater's Kade Desormeau in a 9-4 decision.

Anthony Sartori ((Channahon, Ill./Minooka/Lincoln) produced a 14-5 major decision over North Central's Zachary Finch and a 6-3 decision over Harper's Jair Diaz, and Bradden Davis (Mount Vernon, Ill./Mount Vernon) had a consolation-round fall against Elmhurst's Ben Leach at 141.

Eureka men's and women's wrestling will next host Fontbonne and Carthage in a triangular inside Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena and Convocation Center next Sunday at 2 p.m. It will be the second home wrestling meet at Eureka College in program history.