Wrestling team has a 3-0 record at Eastern Ohio Duals

Head Coach Todd Hibbs returned to his alma mater and the Olivet College wrestling team finished with a 3-0 record today at the Eastern Ohio Duals hosted by Mount Union (Ohio) College. Hibbs, a 1989 graduate of Mount Union, and the Comets opened the day with a 30-21 win over Mercyhurst North East (Pa.) College. They followed that up with a 27-12 win over the host Purple Raiders and defeated Wabash (Ind.) College, 30-9, in the first-place match.

Against Mercyhurst, Olivet received minor decision wins from senior 149-pounder Tyler Goodnight (Midland/Bullock Creek), 5-2; and senior 157-pounder Mike Daubenmeyer (Clinton Twp./Lutheran North), 5-3. Sophomore 197-pounder Aaron Stewart (Dansville) pinned his opponent in five minutes, 41 seconds. Recording wins by forfeit were freshman Kyle Labrecque (Battle Creek/Lakeview) at 125 pounds, freshman Kyle Vanderhyde (Sparta) at 165 pounds and senior Ryan Newberry (Grand Junction/South Haven) at 184 pounds.

Against Mount Union, the Comets picked-up two minor decision wins, two major decision wins, a technical fall win and a win by pin. Earning minor decision victories were senior 133-pounder Kefentse Mandisa (Westland/John Glenn), 3-2; and senior 197-pounder Jeff Wright (Escanaba), 6-2. The major decisions were Labrecque (14-1) and Vanderhyde (13-2). Newberry recorded the technical fall win, 20-4, while freshman heavyweight Keith Sterly (Petoskey) won by pin in two minutes, 28 seconds.

After losing its first two matches against Wabash, Olivet rattled off eight consecutive wins – four by minor decision, three by major decision and one by pin. The minor decision victories were freshman 141-pounder Phil Goodrich (Union City), 10-4; senior 157-pounder Ken Andrews (Swartz Creek), 2-0; Newberry, 8-5; and Stewart, 8-4. Freshman 149-pounder Jason Brew (Sparta), senior 174-pounder Mike Andrews (Swartz Creek) and Sterly earned major decision wins, 12-4, 19-7 and 10-1, respectively. Vanderhyde had a first period pin in one minute, 45 seconds.

The Comets are idle until after the holidays when five wrestlers participate in the 43rd Midlands Championships Dec. 29-30 at Northwestern (Ill.) University. Those five wrestlers are the Andrews’ brothers, Brew, Newberry and Vanderhyde. The next full team action is Wednesday, Jan. 4, when Olivet travels for a dual match against the University of Chicago at 4 p.m. CT.