Olsen and Renas lead wrestling team to first-place finish at ONU Invitational

ADA, Ohio – Seniors Kam Olsen (Kentwood/East Kentwood) and Logan Renas (Big Rapids) took first-place at their weight class, helping the Olivet College wrestling team win the 2012 Ohio Northern University Invitational today inside the ONU Sports Center in Ada, Ohio.

The Comets totaled 140.5 points to beat second-place and NAIA No. 3 ranked Campbellsville (Ky.) by 12.5 points. West Liberty (W.Va.) was third with 116 points, followed by Alma, 110; Ohio Northern, 94.5; Heidelberg (Ohio), 89.5; and Waynesburg (Pa.), 87.5. The tournament featured 15 total schools.

As the No. 5 seed at 133 pounds, Olsen beat four wrestlers to advance to the championship match against teammate Michael Gancer (Battle Creek/Harper Creek). Olsen earned a forfeit win over his teammate to win the title. He began the day pinning Josh Hunter from Ashland (Ohio), followed that with a 12-3 major decision over Zac Case from Alma. He then beat Alex Crown from Waynesburg, 13-7, and Tyler Alsip from Campbellsville, 5-1.

The No. 3 seed at 197 pounds, Renas pinned his first three opponents en route to the semifinal match, where he defeated No. 2 seed Michael Pawlitz from Ohio Northern, 7-3. In the championship match, Renas pinned Jason Russell from Heidelberg in 4:32.

Senior 141-pounder Kenny Richmond (Brighton) started his day with three straight wins, including two by pin, before losing 3-2 in overtime to Wismit Moinius from Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) in the semifinals. Richmond rebounded to pin Caleb Willey from Lycoming (Pa.) in the consolation bracket semis and then shutout Brandon Westerman from Campbellsville, 6-0, in the third-place match.

Junior 149-pounder Gage Pederson (Hastings) won three straight matches to advance to the semifinals. He gave up a takedown midway through overtime to lose 6-4 to Kyle Terry from Campbellsville (Ky.). Pederson then beat Caleb Huff from Alma, 16-13, in his first consolation bracket match and then won by major decision (10-2) over Luke Lohr from Waynesburg in the third-place match.

Sophomore 184-pounder Jeff Holm (Battle Creek/Harper Creek) won his first two matches, one by pin and the second by major decision. After losing to Cody Catalina from Waynesburg, 4-3, in the quarterfinals, he bounced back with four straight wins to finish in third-place. Holmbeat Jared Groeneveld from Alma, 8-2, pinned Michael Johnson from Campbellsville and edged Derrick Williams from West Liberty, 2-1 in sudden death. In the third-place match, Holm defeated Brennan Kelly from Heidelberg, 6-4.

Unseeded at 285 pounds, senior Jake Ceslick (Alpena) had three straight wins, including a pin in the first round, to help him face Mike Carpenter from West Liberty in the semifinals, who pinned Ceslick. In the consolation bracket, Ceslick used an escape late in the match and the riding time point to beat Cody Lovejoy from Ohio Northern, 8-6. In the third-place match,he lost 6-4 to Josh Ransom from Mercyhurst (Pa.).

The No. 7 seed, senior 174-pounder Josh Crawford (Birch Run) received a bye in the first round and then won 12-7 in the second round and 9-7 in the quarterfinals over No. 2 seed Paul Gryniuk from Campbellsville. He suffered 8-5 and 3-2 losses to fall into the fifth-place match, where Crawford beat Cameron Fine from Waynesburg, 9-3.

Junior 165-pounder Rocky Cantu (Rives Junction/Jackson Northwest) split his first two matches, won his next two in the consolation bracket and was eliminated with a 3-1 loss to Eric Antesberger from West Liberty in the fourth round of the consolation bracket.

Junior 125-pounder Henry McKeown (Bellevue/Olivet) and sophomore 157-pounder Kyle Witgen (Romeo) both had a 2-2 record before bowing out of the tournament.

In addition to Gancer's runner-up finish, Olivet's backup wrestlers also had a solid day. Senior Andrew Simpson (Tecumseh) placed fifth at 197 pounds. Freshman Edward Nuttall (Ypsilanti/Lincoln) at 157 pounds and senior Jack Griggs (Brighton) at 285 pounds finished in eighth-place.

The Comets are idle until Sunday, Dec. 16, when they compete in the Desert Duals in Las Vegas.