Wabash senior Jared Tribbett won the 149-pound weight class at Saturday's Mid-States Wrestling Conference Championships. Tribbett was one of five Little Giants to finish in the top-four spots in their various weight classes.
Tribbett entered the competition as the fourth seed. He started the day with a 5-2 victory over fifth-seeded Steve Mena from Olivet. He faced off against the top seeded wrestler from Olivet, Nick Leon, in the next round and scored a pin at the 2:16 mark of their bout. That victory place Tribbett in the championship bout against second-seeded Dave Harris from the College of Mount St. Joseph. Tribbett dispatched Harris easily, winning by a major decision with a score of 14-1 to take the title.
Michael Burke took second place in the 197-pound weight class. He opened the tournament by pinning Manchester Tyler Lathan in 5:34. Burke scored a major victory with a 13-3 win over third-seeded Aaron Stewart from Olivet. Top-seeded Alex Fleet handed Burke his only loss of the day in the finals to match the second-seeded Wabash wrestler with his final place in the bracket.
Greg Rhoads and Andrew Kepchar added third-place finishes in their respective weight classes. Rhoads finished with a 4-2 win against Trine's Jake Allen in the finals of the 174-pound weight class after starting the tournament with an 8-4 victory against Justin Jaynes from Olivet. Rhoads battled second-seeded Nick Kraus from Trine all the way to the end of their match, but came up on the short end of a 12-9 score.
Kepchar lost his opening match 14-12 against fourth-seeded Jeremiah Edwards from Rose-Hulman at 141 pounds before rallying for two consecutive wins, including a 6-3 victory against third-seeded Sam Carsey from Manchester in the semifinals. Kepchar pinned Olivet's Louis Piszcar at the 2:29 mark of their finals match to take third place.
Justin Boyer went 2-2 at 125 pounds to finish fourth overall. Teammate Brock Sempsrott was fifth in the same weight class. Graham Youngs (157 pounds), Stephen Iles (133 pounds), and James Fitzpatrick (184 pounds) each finished in fifth place, as well.
Wabash finished third overall in the team scoring with a total of 106 points. Olivet won the title with a score of 168, followed by Trine University (150).
The Little Giants will compete at the 2009 NCAA Midwest Wrestling Regional, to be held at Trine on Saturday, February 21.