FINDLAY, Ohio - The No. 3 UIndy wrestling team competed at the annual Findlay Open on Saturday, as
Logan Bailey was crowned in the 157 bracket in his first competition of the season.
Derek Blubaugh and
Phoenix Rodgers also shared the title at 197.
In all, eight Greyhounds finished in the top four of their respective weight class. UIndy has competed in each of the last five Findlay Open events, as one was not held durign the 2020-21 campaign.
INS & OUTS
After earning All-America recognition last winter at 149, Bailey picked up where he left off with a dominating performance at 157. Going 5-0 on the day, Bailey earned four bonus point victories on his way to the title, including a pin at 1:13 in the first period in the finals.
Bailey, who was victorious at 149 a season ago at this event, was not the only Greyhound to win gold on Saturday. Blubaugh and Rodgers each fought their way through their side of the bracket to meet in the finals before double forfeiting the final match. Along the way, Blubaugh snagged a major victory (8-0) over West Liberty's Drake Kendrex and a tech fall win (15-0) against Findlay's Jacob Kowalski to earn a place in the finals.
Meanwhile on the other side, Rodgers's last two wins came via decision, including a 6-3 win over Clarion's Brett Wittmann and 6-0 victory against Ashland's Kaine Morris.
Two Hounds placed in the top three at 141, as
Brayden Lowery and
Ray Rioux finished second and third, respectively. Also performing in top-three fashion was
Owen Zablocki at 165 and
Cale Gray at 285.
Jackson Hoover suffered an early loss on the day, but bounced back with a 5-1 record and finished in fourth place.
Zablocki's lone loss came in the semifinals to the class's top-ranked wrestler, Parkside's Shane Gantz.
MORE NOTES
- UIndy saw success at 184, with
Porter Keevers and
Aidan Petersen picking up one pin apiece.
- Freshmen
Mason Cantu (125) and
Jacob Johnson (285) also earned wins on Saturday, while newcomer
Tim Wright pinned Tiffin's Ryan Tucker in the opening round at 149.
HOUND BYTES
Final thoughts from head coach Jason Warthan...
"I think for the most part we wrestled well today. At this stage in the season you try to focus on effort rather than the results. With that being said, I'm happy with results from today. We want to be aggressive and continue to learn about ourselves.
"We still have a couple potential starters out. It's easy to play the "what if" game in your head because of it, but it's a long season and I'm trying to focus on what will make the most sense come February and March."
