Triton Wrestlers Bring Home Four Medals From William Penn Open

[Triton College Wrestling]

Triton Wrestlers Bring Home Four Medals From William Penn Open

Torres wins 125 pounds bracket

 

River Grove, IL--Led by sophomore co-captain and NJCAA ninth ranked Jose Torres (Cicero-Morton) at 125 pounds, the Triton College Trojans wrestling team, currently ranked 25th in the NJCAA, returned from the William Penn Open this past Sunday with four medals, including one champion, after facing more fierce competition from many of the top schools in NCAA Division I, II and II, NAIA and NJCAA.

 

Torres set the tone for the team as he tore through the 125 pounds bracket to a championship. Along the way, fourth seeded Torres tech falled Aaron Schaeffer of William Penn, 17-0. In the semifinals, Torres faced two-time NJCAA All-American Deterious ?T.T.? Praether (fifth at 125 in 2009; fifth at 125 in 2011) of Missouri Valley, who was the number one seed. Down 3-1 at the start of the third period, Torres used a third period fireman?s carry to score a five point move and win 7-3.

 

?That match against Praether was huge for [Torres]?, said Triton Head Coach Harry McGinnis. ?Here?s a two-time college All-American [in Praether] with a high school resume as long as my arm and [Torres] kept it close all match, defending some very nice attacks and putting T.T. on his back for almost an entire minute. He earned every bit of that win.?

 

In the finals, Torres scored two feet to back maneuvers before securing the fall against Derek Bohnsack of Missouri Valley at 2:24 in the first period.

 

Torres has placed in six of the seven tournaments Triton has wrestled in this season top date. This was his third finals appearance and second championship.

 

At 133 pounds, Devantae McCloud (Country Club Hills-Rich Central) was a surprise finisher. After missing weight at 125 pounds, McCloud bumped up to the next weight. Though he suffered a close 9-5 opening round loss to eventual champion Brandon Oshiro of Maryville, McCloud would wrestle back to the third place match, defeating three opponents--two from Waubonsee CC and one from Ellsworth CC--along the way. In the third place match, McCloud came up on the short end of a seesaw 9-7 bout against Logan Welch of Missouri Valley.

 

?This was a big step for Devantae,? McGinnis said. ?He was outsized and out muscled, but his technique and unorthodox style pulled him through. He wrestled more than 35 minutes today, which is not something he was prepared to do a year ago at this time. Devantae is peaking at the right time.?

 

Formerly ranked 141 pound freshman Travis Fuller (Sandwich) returned to competition for the first time in nearly a month. Though he did not place, Fuller scored a first period fall against Tyler Beck of William Penn.

 

Jeremy Walters, a sophomore from Crete-Monee High School, placed in his first tournament since the Yellowjacket Open in late November. Walters dropped his opening bout 8-0 to Ishmael Rempson of William Penn. He followed that with two consecutive pins before falling via pin to second seed Jarrett Jensen of Norther Iowa. Moving to the fifth place match, Walters would redeem himself by pinning Cornell College?s Josh Guenther 2:40 into the first period.

 

Walters? three pins on the day boosted his 2011-12 team lead to 10 and placing him among the top five pinners in the NJCAA to date this season.

 

?Jeremy came flying out of the gates early this season, but then experienced a rough patch right after that,? said McGinnis. ?Our coaching staff has worked with him these last few weeks to tweak some of the things he?s doing and I think this is where we see that he?s making those necessary adjustments and ready for the portion of the season leading towards the national qualifier.?

 

Triton wrestling co-captain and NJCAA eighth ranked 165 pounder Lenny Kuspa (Oak Forest) would also make his way to the medal stand on the day. The fourth seed, Kuspa won a 2-0 decision against Elliott Wirkler from Northern Iowa. In the quarterfinals, Kuspa would surpass Christian Loges of Maryville by a score of 12-7. Come the semifinals, Kuspa would face top seed and eventual bracket champion, Brett Rosedale of Maryville, and lose 16-7. Kuspa?s road was no easier as his next two opponents came by way of Northern Iowa University. In the consolation semis, Kuspa wrestled a very tight match with Kyle Lux before Kuspa was turned in the third period and pinned at 6:03. Wrestling for fifth place, Kuspa would drop his final bout of the day, 12-7, to Wirkler and Lux?s teammate, Tayler Berger.

 

?I knew this wasn?t going to be a cakewalk,? said Kuspa. ?These guys are among the best in the country and I feel very good about how I wrestled against them today. I wish I would have placed higher, but I?ll work with my coaches and make the changes I need to make before the regional comes along in five weeks.?

 

Sophomore Christian Alcantara (Burbank-Reavis), also formerly ranked at 184 pounds before suffering an early season injury, came away without a medal, but scored a decisive 14-6 major decision against Dylan Ash of Ellsworth Community College.

 

Sophomore 157 pounder Tim Hovey (Melrose Park-Leyden) and freshmen Michael Murray (Chicago-Lane Tech) at 165 and Jason Delessandro (Chicago-Fenwick) also competed for the Trojans.

 

This coming Saturday, the Trojans will travel due west to Elmhurst College to take part in the 30th Annual Al Hanke Invitational. Wrestling begins at 9:00 a.m.

 

Triton College Wrestling is seeking hard working, dedicated student-wrestlers to become part of our historic program and compete against the best teams in the country at every college level. For more information about Triton College Wrestling and Triton College, please visit us on the web at http://www.triton.edu/Content.aspx?id=7156 and fill out our online recruitment form, http://www.triton.edu/Content.aspx?id=6939. You may also find us through various popular social media websites such as facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Trito...80827418666095 and twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/Triton_Wrestlng. You may also visit us in person on campus by contacting Head Coach Harry McGinnis at (708) 456-0300, extension 3784 or by email at hmcginni@triton.edu.