MONTGOMERY, AL. – The Kentucky Wesleyan College wrestling team placed third at the Hawk Classic Open on Saturday. The Panthers saw five wrestlers place in the event with
Cade Johnson leading the way with a second-place finish at 157 pounds.
After a long break, the Panthers returned to the mat with
Cade Johnson taking runner-up honors at 157-pounds. After a 11-6 decision in his opening round match, Johnson pined his next three opponents. Two pins came in early in the second period while the third over Chase Bond from Truett McConnell happened with 38 seconds left in the match.
Dalen Kimble made his return at 149-pounds with a fourth-place finish. Kimble reached his match limit for the day and could not compete in the third-place match. Kimble finished the day 5-1 with a major decision and one technical fall. After a loss in the second round, Kimble won four straight matches to get to the placing round.
Both
Matthew Velasco and
Bryson Rowley placed fifth at their respective weight classes. Velasco continued his strong season with three straight wins at 141-pounds to the open the day, including a pin and major decision. Rowley finished the day 4-2. Rowely received a first round bye and then moved to the consolation bracket after a loss in the quarterfinals. With back-to-back wins which included a pin, Rowley moved in the consolation semis before finishing fifth.
At 184-pounds,
Drayden McKerrow finished sixth. Like Kimble his final match was a no contest as he reached his match limit for the day. McKerrow lost his opening round match but won four straight matches. His run started with a pin over Jostyn Zayas in the consolation second round. McKerrow would record two pins on the day.
Also,
Gavyn Uribes finished 3-2 at heavyweight. The Panthers collected 77 points to finish in third place. Five points ahead of Lindsey Wilson. Life University took top honors with 173 points.
The Panthers will open Great Midwest action on Sunday with a pair of matches. Wesleyan will host Lake Erie and Ashland. The Panthers will first go head-to-head with Lake Erie. The match at Jones Gymnasium is scheduled to start at 3:30PM.
Stay up to date on all your Panther news by following @KWCPanthers on X and Instagram and by liking the "Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics" Facebook page. Also, the Panthers Mobile App is available on iTunes and Android featuring real-time news alerts, schedules, exclusive multimedia content, gameday details and more.
