CLARION, Pa. – Senior
Angelo Rini (133), junior
Aaron Ayzerov (184) and sophomore
Jack Wehmeyer (197) each posted third place finishes in their weight categories to get the season started at the Clarion Open on Sunday. Columbia finished second as a team at the event behind Ohio State.
In total, 10 Lions earned a spot on the podium in an impressive start to the 2023-24 campaign.
Joshua Ogunsanya finished fourth at 165.
Nick Babin took fourth at 125 and
Vincent Mueller earned a fourth place finish at 285.
Jaden Le finished fifth at 157, while
Kai Owen took fifth at 141. Jack Mcgill (184) and
Nolan Neves (285) each finished sixth.
Rini got the day started with a tech fall win over Navy's Garrett Totten. He followed that up with a 19-4 major decision over Jacob Brenneman and a fall against Andrew Hampton (Michigan State). Rini lost via decision against Bo Bassett, sending him to the third place match. Rini met top-seeded Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State) in a battle for third. Rini prevailed with an impressive 14-8 decision victory to take third in the season opening event.
Ayzerov posted three straight wins at 184 to advance through the day. He defeated Brixan Burgess (Gardner-Webb) via fall, Jesse Kanatzar (John Carroll) via tech fall and Seth Shumate (Ohio State) via decision, 9-3. Ayzerov was defeated via fall by Reece Heller (Pittsburgh), sending him to the third place match. Ayzerov took a 4-0 decision win over James Rowley (Purdue) to securd the third place finish.
Wehmeyer also earned three wins to start the day before losing and bouncing back in the third place match. Wehmeyer downed Jacob Lee (Michigan State), Eidson Flores (Gardner-Webb) and Jack Lucas (Navy) to earn a spot in the 197 semifinals. Wehmeyer fell to Mac Stout (Pittsburgh) in the semis in a 5-2 decision. He then bounced back to take a 14-1 major decision over Lucas Daly (Michigan State) to finish in third.
Additionally, first-years
Sulayman Bah,
Rawson Iwanicki,
Karl Monaco,
Tyler Barrett,
Adam Haselius,
Nolan Neves and
Vincent Mueller each picked up their first career wins as Lions at the Clarion Open.
Full results from the tournament can be found
HERE.
UP NEXT
Columbia gets the dual season started with two dual meets against Big 10 opponents. The Lions will welcome Michigan to Levien Gymnasium for the home opener on Friday, November 17 at 7 p.m. Columbia will then host Ohio State at 11 a.m. Sunday to cap off a challenging weekend of wrestling. Admission to all home wrestling matches is free and open to the public.
FOLLOWING THE LIONS
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