MEN’S WRESTLING HAS STRONG SHOWING AT BENEDICTINE SERVICE SALUTE
ATCHISON, Kan. – Avila men's wrestling opened their second weekend of the year with their third competition.
At the 2024 Benedictine Service Salute in Atchison, Kan., Avila had five wrestlers finish with winning records in the competition and three place within the top five of their class, with two winning consolation championships.
Junior Raul Romero finished his day 3-1 and landed in fifth place in the 125-pound class. Romero had wins via takedown and tech fall to end his competition.
In the 133-pound division, senior Tyler Johnson went 2-1 and landed in second place, while junior Ryan McNeel finished one spot behind his teammate in third place.
Johnson fell in the championship round to Dominic Chavez of Texas Wesleyan and McNeel won his third-place match via takedown.
Memphis Schulz (149) and Kendrick Gordon (174) were each consolation champions in their respective weight classes.
Schulz finished the competition going 4-1 and winning by fall in the consolation championship match.
Gordon defeated teammate Joe Juitt in the consolation championship of the 174-pound class by fall.
In a successful weekend early in the season, Avila head coach Eric Mateo was more focused on the process instead of the results:
"It was a good weekend overall. We performed well as a team, but we have a lot of adjustments to make on fundamentals and execution. I thought our mindset was good going into the competition. I wanted us to compete with pride and some guys rose to that occasion, while some still have work to do on the mental side of things. I wasn't concerned with placing in the event, I just want the guys to fall in love with the process and go to work every single day. I was happy to see some of our freshman join their peers in getting their first college wins after some got their first last weekend. It was also good to see some of our guys who have been on a big layoff due to injury wrestle on their first competitions."
A full list of results from the weekend can be found here.
Avila is back in action next weekend at the Grand View Open in Des Moines, Iowa on Nov. 16.
