Four Eagles Win Titles, Team Places Second At Home Great Midwest Championships

It wasn't a three-peat, but it was a pretty good day nonetheless.
 
On Saturday (Jan. 21) at Kates Gymnasium, Ashland University's wrestling team played host to the 2023 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championships. The Eagles were looking for a third consecutive team title, but had to "settle" for a second-place finish and four individual championships.
 
"In all honesty, I think a lot of the teams in this tournament are banged up," said Ashland head coach Colt Sponseller, "but coming out and getting four championships is pretty nice. See some guys fight through the consi rounds and place, I'm pretty happy with the product we put out there.
 
"It was a really good experience for the guys."
 
Findlay was the team champion with 86 points, followed by Ashland (76.5), Tiffin (72.5), Lake Erie (63.5) and Kentucky Wesleyan (19).
 
WHAT HAPPENED

• Ashland's four conference champions are junior Drew Wiechers at 165 pounds, redshirt freshman Nate Barrett at 174 pounds, junior Daniel Beemer at 184 pounds, and sophomore Walker Uhl at 197 pounds.
• Wiechers, in his return to the mat after missing time due to injury, went 2-0 after a bye, earning an 12-3 major decision, then a 4-1 decision in the first-place match.
• Barrett also was 2-0 after a bye, winning 11-8, then a 16-0 technical fall over junior teammate Corbin May.
• Beemer, ranked No. 5 in NCAA Division II at 184, started with a bye, won a 16-5 major decision and took the first-place match via medical forfeit.
• Uhl, ranked No. 6 in the country, had to win three matches for a title, and he did – a 9-0 major decision, an 8-2 decision and a 5-1 decision in the first-place match.
• Ashland also boasted three second-place finishers – freshman Sevriano Garza at 165 (2-1), May at 174 (2-1), and junior Ty Petrey at 285 (bye, then 1-1).
• "To see that was great," Sponseller said of having seven grapplers in the finals. "A big team effort, feeding off of each other."
• Taking third was junior Nick Carbone at 157 (2-1, major decision).

 
UP NEXT
Ashland will go back on the road to take on Tiffin on Feb. 3 at 7 p.m.
 
"We'll see Tiffin and Findlay again in the next two weeks," Sponseller noted. "We're going to get to see some competition before regionals. Thankfully, we have a week off to get healthy. It's good momentum, but it also keeps them hungry, because we took second."