GENEVA, Ohio – Four Wolverines remain alive out of six at the U23 Freestyle Nationals at the Spire Institute.
Evan Bockman is the only one in championship contention, and
Yusief Lillie,
Kase Mauger, and
Isaiah Delgado will fight for a spot on the podium tomorrow.
"We got off to a good start today, winning our first nine matches. All of the guys are showing some improvement from our spring training, and that's really positive to see. Evan is looking solid, and Yusief, Kase, and Isaiah are all capable of doing well tomorrow if they stay aggressive with their hand-fighting and attacks," said UVU head coach Greg Williams.
Bockman remained undefeated and went 2-0 to advance to tomorrow's quarterfinals. After receiving a first-round bye in his opening match, the No. 5 seed cruised to a 10-0 victory in 3:34 over Jack Kilner (Edinboro RTC). He jumped out to an 8-0 lead after one period before adding two points to put it away early in the second.
In the second match of the day, Bockman used another fast start to get out to an 8-1 lead after the first period. He scored four points in the second period for the 12-1 win over Viking Wrestling Club's Owen Braungardt. He will now move into the quarterfinals, meeting NCAA Qualifier and Big Ten Champ Silas Allred (Nebraska).
55kg Greco Champion Lillie finished 1-1 on the day and advanced to the round of 16 after a victory over Dalton Whitehall-Gilkes (Iowa) by VSU 10-0. In the round of 16, he led 1-0 heading into the third period before Brett Ungar (Spartan Combat RTC) scored three points to secure the 3-1 victory. In the consolation rounds, he will face Devin Gomez (Western Colorado WC).
Mauger cruised in the first two rounds with a 10-0 victory over Shay Horton (Kentucky) and followed it up with an 11-0 win over George Mason's Shawn Nonaka. In the round of 16, he fell to fellow Big 12 foe Julian Farber (Panther WC RTC). The ninth-seeded Mauger will meet the 11th-seeded Maximillian Leete (Massachusetts). The American University foe led AU in wins during the NCAA season.
The No. 29 seed Delgado advanced to the round of 16. He used a 10-1 lead to aid him to a 14-3 win over Vince Perez (Chippewa WC). He trailed in the second matchup 4-0 to Evan Mougalian (Pennsylvania RTC), but he quickly responded to take ten of the following 12 points and pick up the 10-6 win. Following a victory over Cayden Rooks (Indiana WC), he took his only loss of the day to Ryan Jack of Wolfpack Wrestling Club. In the next round, Delgado will face Alek Martin (Jackrabbit Wrestling Club)
Merrell Morley finished 3-2 on the day in the Freestyle Tournament and picked up a pair of victories over Douglas Dittmer (Club Lucha) and Brooks Sacharczyk (Arkansas RTC) in the morning.
Mahonri Rushton finished 2-2 with wins over Kennedy Wyatt (Knights RTC), and Joseph Metz (West Point WC).
The U23 Team Trials will wrap up on June 4. The action gets underway at 8:00 a.m. MT and will be available on FloWrestling with live results on Arena.FloWrestling.org.
Results
57kg
Yusief Lillie (1-1)
R32
Yusief Lillie (Brunson UVRTC) Over Dalton Whitehall-Gilkes (Iowa) VSU 10-0 (5:09)
R16 Brett Ungar (Spartan Combat) Over
Yusief Lillie (Brunson UVRTC) VPO1 3-1
61kg
Kase Mauger (2-1)
R64
Kase Mauger (Brunson UVRTC) Over Shay Horton (Kentucky) VSU 10-0 (1:02)
R32
Kase Mauger (Brunson UVRTC) Over Shawn Nonaka (George Mason) VSU 11-0 (1:11)
R16 Julian Farber (Panther WC RTC) Over
Kase Mauger (Brunson UVRTC) VSU1 14-4 (5:06)
65kg
Isaiah Delgado (3-1)
R128
Isaiah Delgado (Brunson UVRTC) Over Vince Perez (Chippewa WC) VSU1 14-3 4:36
R64
Isaiah Delgado (Brunson UVRTC) Over Evan Mougalian (Pennsylvania RTC) VPO1 10-6
R32
Isaiah Delgado (Brunson UVRTC) Over Cayden Rooks (Indiana) VP01 1-1
R16 Ryan Jack (Wolfpack WC) Over
Isaiah Delgado (Brunson UVRTC) VSU 11-0 (3:13)
86kg
Merrell Morley (3-2)
R128
Merrell Morley (Brunson UVRTC) Over Douglas Dittmer (Club Lucha) VPO1 13-10
R64
Merrell Morley (Brunson UVRTC) Over Brooks Sacharczyk (Arkansas RTC) VPO1 8-2
R32 Caden Rogers (Lehigh Valley WC) Over
Merrell Morley (Brunson UVRTC) VSU 10-0 (3:41)
C32
Merrell Morley (Brunson UVRTC) Over Nathan Lapinski (Pennsylvania RTC) VPO1 5-5
C16 Connor Strong (Pennsylvania RTC) Over
Merrell Morley (Brunson UVRTC) VPO1 10-1
86kg
Mahonri Rushton (2-2)
R64
Mahonri Rushton (Brunson UVRTC) Over Kennedy Wyatt (Knights RTC) VSU1 17-7 4:54
R32 Cael Valencia (Sunkist Kids WC) Over
Mahonri Rushton (Brunson UVRTC) VPO1 6-4
C32
Mahonri Rushton (Brunson UVRTC) Over Joseph Metz (West Point WC) VIN 1:51 0-3
C16 Ty McGeary (Pennsylvania) Over
Mahonri Rushton (Brunson UVRTC) VPO1 4-3
92kg
Evan Bockman (1-0)
R32
Evan Bockman (Brunson UVRTC) Over Jack Kilner (Edinboro RTC) VSU 10-0 (3:34)