The Wabash wrestling team finished third out of 14 teams Saturday at the 28th Al Hanke Wrestling Invitational hosted by Elmhurst College. The Little Giants earned six top-5 finishes, including a first place title by freshman Jake Strausbaugh at 141 pounds.
Strausbaugh (left) entered the weekend as the top seed at 141 pounds and lived up to expectations. He opened with a pin at 4:53 against Concordia's Josh Plate, then received a medical forfeit in the second round. A second pin at 4:54 against fourth-seeded Mike Grice from Elmhurst positioned Strausbaugh for a shot at the weight class title. He won the final bout of the day with a 8-5 victory over number-two seed Ryan Earley from Elmhurst.
Josh Boyer took second place at 125 pounds with two early wins. He started with a 7-3 victory over Javier Carbajal from Waubonsee, followed by a 5-2 win against second-seeded Austin Binish from the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Boyer met top-seeded Edurado Dominquez from Harper in the finals, losing 19-2 to earn second overall.
Jake Moore (right) scored a major upset on his way to a third place finish at 157 pounds. After scoring a 5-4 win against Lance Surma (Calumet) in the opening round, Moore met top-seeded Dan Hamilton from Elmhurst. Moore suffered a 12-3 loss, but it would be his last loss of the tourney. An 8-0 win against Ryan May from Illinois State and a pin at 3:16 versus Chris Hamberger from Concordia put Moore up against second seed Ben Chapman from Lakeland. Moore scored a 5-2 victory to move on to the finals, where he defeated Waubonsee wrestler Yoandy Cruz 11-6 to take home third place.
Senior Rob Arnett took third place at heavyweight with a 4-1 record for the day. He started with a pin at 6:10 against Kennedy King's John Price in the opening round. A 4-3 win against fifth-seeded John Grubisch of Harper put the fourth-seeded Arnett up against top seed Mark Corsello of Elmhurst. Corsello took a 5-0 victory. Arnett came back to defeat Artie Grubba from Calumet by pin at 2:46 in the consolation semifinals before receiving a medical forfeit from Grubisch in the finals.
Bryan Hugo added a fifth place finish to the Wabash team totals. Hugo opened his first 174-pound bout with an 8-2 victory against Chris Collins from Lakeland. A 9-6 loss to fourth-seeded Jason Cleary from Elmhurst sent the fifth-seeded Hugo to the consolation bracket, where he scored a pin at 2:15 versus Dustin Strusse from Triton. A medical forfeit in the next round put Hugo up against Ryan Renon from Lakeland. The third-seeded Renon won a close 3-1 decision. Hugo rebounded with a win in the finals, meeting Collins for the second time and scoring a pin at the 1:20 mark of their match.
Tyler McCoy took fifth place at 184 pounds with a 3-2 record for the tournament. After losing to second-seeded Matt Olsen from MSOE in the opening round by pin, McCoy came back to post a 6-1 victory over Takumi Mihama from Chicago in the consolation bracket. A medical forfeit in the next round sent McCoy to the semis against fourth-seeded Chris Weber from Lakeland. Weber won 9-4, but McCoy came back strong in the finals, shutting out Mike McNeil from Elmhurst 9-0 to take fifth overall.
Wabash scored a total of 93-1/2 team points in the tournament. Elmhurst won with 156 points, including three first-place finishes. Harper was second with 141-1/2 points. Lakeland (82) and MSOE (73-1/2) rounded out the top-five places.