Arkansas Wrestle
(All images via obutigers.com)
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – Jimmy Anderson led the Ouachita wrestling team on Saturday at the NCAA Super Region 4 Tournament with a third-place finish in the 133 bracket, which earns him a trip to the NCAA Division II National Wrestling Championships.
Anderson started his day with a 6-4 win by decision over Central Missouri’s James Wright, and then fell in the semifinals to ninth-ranked Ryan Ripplinger from McKendree by a close 5-3 decision. He then pinned Kentucky Wesleyan’s Matthew Velasco in 2:58 to advance to the third-place match. There, Anderson earned another hard-fought win, taking down Central Oklahoma’s Peter Rolle by a 7-4 decision.
The Tigers had two other wrestlers on the brink of qualifying for nationals in Jaylon Otero (157) and Donald Paul (285), both of which lost in their respective third-place matches.
Otero started with a win over McKendree’s Josh Laubach in the quarterfinals by a 5-2 decision before falling to third-ranked Gabe Johnson from Central Oklahoma by an 8-1 decision. Otero bounced back with a 4-2 win by decision over Drury’s Will Kuster to set up a third-place matchup against Indianapolis’ Owen Zablocki. The bout needed overtime to determine a winner. Zablocki picked up a takedown to earn the 4-1 sudden victory.
Paul opened up with a 11-6 win by decision over McKendree’s Tyler Haynes and then lost by fall in 1:51 to top-ranked Shawn Streck from Central Oklahoma. On the other side of the bracket, Paul bounced back with a major decision of 11-3 over Kentucky Wesleyan’s Kelton Farmer. That set up a rematch with Haynes in the third-place bout, which was decided with a pin by Haynes at 3:45.
Brooks Schrimsher finished fifth in the 197 bracket, highlighted by a win by fall and a win by major decision.
Hudson Herring (141), Sam Schmidt (165), and Will Wilson (174) each posted one win in their respective brackets.
The Tigers finished sixth overall at the tournament with 47 total points.
Anderson will represent Ouachita at the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships on March 15-16 in Wichita, Kansas at Hartman Arena.
