wrestling vs. michigan
David Elliott

Wrestling

Wrestling claims multiple Top 5 finishes at Michigan State Open

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The VMI wrestling team turned in a strong showing Saturday at the Michigan State Open, hosted at Jenison Field House, highlighted by a third-place finish from sophomore Beau Lewis at 174 pounds and additional Top 5 performances.
 
After opening the championship bracket with an 11-1 victory over Grand Valley's Zachary Knapp. Lewis continued his run with a 12-5 quarterfinal win over Edinboro's Tavyn MacDonell. He dropped an 8-2 decision to Arizona State's Max Wirnsberger in the semifinals, before bouncing back in the consolation bracket. Lewis secured third place with a dominant 14-1 victory over Edinboro's Alwalid Bourkia.
 
Freshman EJ Sheeran also delivered an impressive performance at 149 pounds, finishing fifth. After receiving a first-round bye, Sheeran defeated Central Michigan's Erik Rodriguez, 4-1, and followed with a 10-3 quarterfinal victory over Northern Illinois' Nick Strand. He reached the semifinals before falling 5-0 to Purdue's Drake Hooiman.
 
Fifth year Braxton Lewis added a fifth-place finish at heavyweight. After a first-round bye, he earned an 8-0 quarterfinal victory over Edinboro's Aden Rose and edged Central Michigan's Carter Neves, 10-9, in the championship round. Following a semifinal loss to Wisconsin's Connor Diemel, Lewis competed for third place, but fell to Kent State's Brentan Simmerman before ultimately placing fifth.
 
Sophomore JT Bowers also earned a spot in the fifth-place bout at 165 pounds. He opened with an 8-6 victory over Indiana's Anthony Gutierrez and later defeated Northern Illinois' Jaxon Miller and Iowa State's David Perez in the consolation bracket. He dropped a pair of close decisions to Arizona State's Justin Wardlow and Edinboro's Jordan Thompson to finish sixth.
 
At 197 pounds, sophomore Cole Will advanced to the quarterfinals with a 12-3 victory over Michigan State's Brady Jess. He later fell to Arizona State's Aidan Ysaguirre in the semifinals and dropped a narrow 6-5 decision to Findlay's Jon Golec in the consolation semifinals.
 
Sophomore Andrew Barford also made his presence felt at 174 pounds, recording a 6-3 consolation victory over Grand Valley's Zachary Knapp and a 3-1 win over Northern Illinois' AJ Tack.
 
Other Keydet victories included sophomore Malachi Ortiz at 125 pounds, who recorded a 14-1 opening-round win and a 4-3 victory over unattached Peyton Schoettle, while freshman Lincoln Kelley earned a 1-0 decision over Purdue's Parker Reynolds at 149 pounds.
 
The Keydets showed depth throughout the tournament, with several wrestlers advancing through the championship and consolation brackets and gaining valuable early-season competition against a diverse field of opponents hailing from the Big Ten and Big 12 among others.
 
VMI returns home to host a quad meet with Salem (11 a.m.), LIU (1 p.m.), and Presbyterian (3 p.m.) on Saturday, Nov. 14 at Cormack Hall.
 
VMI at Michigan State Open
Saturday, November 7 - Jenison Field House
at East Lansing, Mich.
 
Third Place
174: Beau Lewis (VMI) over Alwalid Bourkia (EDIN), 14-1
 
Fifth Place
149: EJ Sheeran (VMI) over Nick Strand (NI), 0-0
165: Jordan Thompson (EDIN) over JT Bowers (VMI), 7-5
174: Fred Hammond (GV) over Andrew Barford (VMI), 8-3
197: Alex Smith (NORT) over Cole Will (VMI), 7-4
285: Braxton Lewis (VMI) over Lucas Lawler (BUCK), 0-0
 
Semifinals
149: Drake Hooiman (PUR) over EJ Sheeran (VMI), 5-0
174: Max Wirnsberger (AS) over Beau Lewis (VMI), 8-2
197: Aidan Ysaguirre (AS) over Cole Will (VMI), 14-3
285: Connor Diemel (WISC) over Braxton Lewis (VMI), 3-1
 
Quarterfinals
125: Marlo Clark (INDI) over Malachi Ortiz (VMI), 4-2
149: EJ Sheeran (VMI) over Nick Strand (NI), 10-3
174: Beau Lewis (VMI) over Tavyn MacDonell (EDIN), 12-5
174: Fred Hammond (GV) over Andrew Barford (VMI), 7-4
197: Cole Will (VMI) over Brady Jess (MS), 12-3
285: Braxton Lewis (VMI) over Aden Rose (EDIN), 8-0
 
Championship Round 2
125: Malachi Ortiz (VMI) over Peyton Schoettle (UNAT), 4-3
125: Archer Anderson (CM) over Waylon Rogers (VMI), 17-2
133: Adrian Meza (AS) over Kyle Gibson (VMI), 11-0
149: EJ Sheeran (VMI) over Erik Rodriguez (CM), 4-1
149: Oliver Davis (NI) over Lincoln Kelley (VMI), 14-7
165: Jordan Thompson (EDIN) over JT Bowers (VMI), 10-4
285: Braxton Lewis (VMI) over Carter Neves (CM), 10-9
285: Niko Sahakian (MICH) over Drake Garrison (VMI), 3-0
 
Championship Round 1
125: Malachi Ortiz (VMI) over Dawsen Hudsen (LEC), 14-1
125: Waylon Rogers (VMI), BYE
133: Massey Odiotti (NORT) over Cody Tanner (VMI), 13-1
133: Kyle Gibson (VMI), BYE
133: Ashton Besmer (AP) over Rafael Otero (VMI), 19-4
141: Dominic Ferraro (EDIN) over Chris LaLonde (VMI), 7-2
141: Jace Morgan (MS) over Jared Goodson (VMI), 5-0
141: Emilio Ysaguirre (AS) over Phoenix Alyea (VMI), 14-2
149: EJ Sheeran (VMI), BYE
149: Lincoln Kelley (VMI) over Parker Reynolds (PUR), 1-0
157: Clay Kimmy (EDIN) over Merritt Clinton (VMI), 18-2
165: JT Bowers (VMI) over Anthony Gutierrez (INDI), 8-6
165: Nicco Ruiz (AS) over Logan Chambers (VMI), 19-4
174: Beau Lewis (VMI) over Zachary Knapp (GV), 11-1
184: Aidan Brenot (AS) over Eric Doran (VMI), 9-2
184: Eli Leonard (WISC) over Gideon Gerber (VMI), 22-7
184: Peter Snyder (NORT) over Kaden Curry (VMI), 10-3
197: Cole Will (VMI), BYE
197: Hayden Walters (MICH) over Toby Schoffstall (VMI), 5-3
285: Braxton Lewis (VMI), BYE
285: Drake Garrison (VMI), BYE
 
Consolation Semifinals
149: Eddie Kessen (CM) over EJ Sheeran (VMI), 6-4
165: Justin Wardlow (AS) over JT Bowers (VMI), 4-2
174: Beau Lewis (VMI) over Andrew Barford (VMI), 18-3
197: Jon Golec (FIND) over Cole Will (VMI), 6-5
285: Brentan Simmerman (KS) over Braxton Lewis (VMI), 11-7
 
Consolation Round 5
165: JT Bowers (VMI) over David Perez (IS), 10-6
 
Consolation Round 4
125: Ayden Bollinger (INDI) over Malachi Ortiz (VMI), 8-1
165: JT Bowers (VMI) over Jaxon Miller (NORT), 0-0
 
Consolation Round 3
125: Jackson Heslin (BUCK) over Waylon Rogers (VMI), 15-13
133: Joey Romano (LEC) over Kyle Gibson (VMI), 13-2
133: Dominic Canali (EDIN) over Hayato Otero (VMI), 21-4
141: Jack Dinwiddie (FIND) over Chris LaLonde (VMI), 3-2
165: JT Bowers (VMI) over Jack Willen (CUMB), 5-3
174: Andrew Barford (VMI) over AJ Tack (NI), 3-1
285: Corey Boerio (KS) over Drake Garrison (VMI), 12-4
 
Consolation Round 2
125: Waylon Rogers (VMI), BYE
133: Joey Romano (LEC) over  Cody Tanner (VMI), 6-1
133: Kyle Gibson (VMI), BYE
133: Hayato Otero (VMI) over Michael Kowalski (CUMB), 16-1
141: Chris LaLonde (VMI) over Ian Jones (UNAT), 20-2
141: Sawyer Smith (FIND) over Jared Goodson (VMI), 0-0
141: Joseph Toscano (SCR) over Phoenix Alyea (VMI), 9-5
149: Eddie Kessen (CM) over Lincoln Kelley (VMI), 18-3
157: Teague Smith (AP) over Merritt Clinton (VMI), 8-5
165: JT Bowers (VMI), BYE
174: Andrew Barford (VMI) over Zachary Knapp (GV), 6-3
184: Marcell Booth (NORT) over Eric Doran (VMI), 19-4 
184: David Malin (WISC) over Gideon Gerber (VMI), 8-5
184: Judah Heeg (NI) over Kaden Curry (VMI), 3-0
197: Codei Khawaja (MICH) over Toby Schoffstall (VMI), 4-1
285: Drake Garrison (VMI), BYE
 
Consolation Round 1
133: Hayato Otero (VMI), BYE
141: Chris LaLonde (VMI), BYE
141: Jared Goodson (VMI), BYE
141: Phoenix Alyea (VMI), BYE
157: Merritt Clinton (VMI), BYE
165: Jack Conley (MS) over Logan Chambers (VMI), 11-9
184: Eric Doran (VMI), BYE
184: Gideon Gerber (VMI), BYE
184: Kaden Curry (VMI), BYE
197: Toby Schoffstall (VMI) over Collin Wagner (FIND), 3-0
 
 
 
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Phoenix Alyea

Phoenix Alyea

141
5' 8"
Senior
Andrew Barford

Andrew Barford

184
5' 10"
Sophomore
JT Bowers

JT Bowers

165
5' 9"
Sophomore
Logan Chambers

Logan Chambers

174
5' 11"
Redshirt Sophomore
Eric Doran

Eric Doran

157
5' 8"
Senior
Drake Garrison

Drake Garrison

285
6' 2"
Junior
Gideon Gerber

Gideon Gerber

184
5' 9"
Sophomore
Kyle Gibson

Kyle Gibson

133
5' 6"
Junior
Beau Lewis

Beau Lewis

174
5' 10"
Sophomore
Braxton Lewis

Braxton Lewis

184
5' 9"
Fifth Year

Players Mentioned

Phoenix Alyea

Phoenix Alyea

5' 8"
Senior
141
Andrew Barford

Andrew Barford

5' 10"
Sophomore
184
JT Bowers

JT Bowers

5' 9"
Sophomore
165
Logan Chambers

Logan Chambers

5' 11"
Redshirt Sophomore
174
Eric Doran

Eric Doran

5' 8"
Senior
157
Drake Garrison

Drake Garrison

6' 2"
Junior
285
Gideon Gerber

Gideon Gerber

5' 9"
Sophomore
184
Kyle Gibson

Kyle Gibson

5' 6"
Junior
133
Beau Lewis

Beau Lewis

5' 10"
Sophomore
174
Braxton Lewis

Braxton Lewis

5' 9"
Fifth Year
184