Pair of Mustangs Claim Titles in Michigan State Invitational

Saturday, November 6

East Lansing, MI

8 a.m.

Michigan State Open

Evan Wick, shown wrestling for Wisconsin, claimed the 165-pound Open Division title for Cal Poly at the Michigan State Invitational on Saturday.

Pair of Mustangs Claim Titles in Michigan State Invitational

11/6/2021 1:00:00 PM | Wrestling

FINAL BRACKETS

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The Cal Poly wrestling team produced a champion in the open division as well as in the frosh-soph division of the season-opening Michigan State Invitational on Saturday.

The two champions are brothers and newcomers to the program.

Evan Wick, a three-time national qualifier and two-time NCAA All-American while wrestling at Wisconsin, claimed the 165-pound open division title while his younger brother, Luka Wick, placed first in the frosh-soph 149-pound division.

Evan Wick breezed into the semifinals with a pair of technical falls following a first-round bye, then earned a 10-0 major decision against Danny Baunagel of Illinois and an 11-0 major decision over Izzak Olejnik of Northern Illinois for the title.

In the finals, Wick jumped to a 6-0 lead with a takedown and four-point near fall in the first period and added an escape and takedown in the second period for a 9-0 advantage. One more takedown in the final period produced Wick's last two points in the 11-0 major decision.

Luka Wick, a graduate of San Marino High School last June, pinned Mason Shrader of Central Michigan in 6 minutes, 26 seconds, for first place in the frosh-soph 149-pound weight class. The Mustang freshman earned two other falls, both in the first period, and a technical fall to reach the final round.

Back in the open division, Lawrence Saenz placed second at 141 pounds and Bernie Truax an NCAA All-American last winter, forfeited his final-round match at 184 pounds to Brit Wilson of Northern Illinois due to medical reasons. Legend Lamer forfeited his semifinal-round match at 149 to Alex Hagan of Ohio, also for medical reasons.

Saenz reached the semifinals with a fall, a major decision and a decision, then defeated Javon Jones of Northern Illinois in a 9-5 decision to advance to the finals, where he dropped a 10-4 decision to Chance Lamer of Michigan.

Lamer earned victories by a technical fall and a decision after a first-round bye to gain his spot in the semifinal while Truax needed just one win, a technical fall, after a first-round bye to reach the semifinals, whehe he defeated Layne Malczewski of Michigan State 6-4. He forfeited to Brit Wilson of Northern Illinois in the finals, placing second.

Adam Kemp placed third at 174 pounds with an 8-6 decision over Fritz Schierl of Ohio State. Kemp was 5-1, all decisions, in the tournament and won another match via medical forfeit.

In the frosh-soph division, Jack Lenox reached the semifinals at 133 pounds before losing by a fall and finished sixth while Cole Jackson was fourth at 197 and Jarad Priest fifth at 174.

Jackson dropped an 11-2 major decision to Jordan Greer of Ohio in the match for third and fourth place while Priest notched a 3-1 win over Caden Emd of Illinois for fifth place on the podium.

Cal Poly returns to action Nov. 20 with a dual meet against San Francisco State outdoors on the Richard O'Neill Green. First bout begins at 3 p.m., two hours before the Mustang football team kicks off against Northern Arizona inside Alex G. Spanos Stadium.