Wrestling | 11/14/2021 8:51:00 PM

    TIFFIN, Ohio – Sophomore Jordan Watters won the 149-pound championship in the White Division to lead six West Liberty University placers here Sunday at the mammoth Ohio Intercollegiate Open, which sprawled across all 10 mats at the Heminger Center on the campus of Tiffin University.
    More than 30 collegiate wrestling programs and hundreds of wrestlers competed at the event, which featured such NCAA Division I programs as Ohio State, Indiana, Kent State, Akron and West Virginia University along with several nationally-ranked NCAA Division II and III squads.
    "I was really impressed by Jordan's consistency today," Irwin said. "It's a testimony to how he approaches each day in practice leading up to competitions like this. Top to bottom, I think we're seeing more guys start to build their own identities on the mat and that's huge for the weeks ahead and the progressions we want to make. (Jacob) Simpson, (Carter) Winegardner and (Jamie) Kilmer are good examples for our other guys to look to and learn from."
    Watters won four straight matches to take the 149-pound title in the White Division and did so in style, not surrendering an offensive point all day. The fast-rising sophomore pitched three consecutive shutouts on his way to the championship final. Watters dominated the title match, as well, breezing past Casey Barnett, wrestling unattached out of Tiffin, by an 8-1 count.
    "It felt good to be wrestling in my first Open tournament," Watters said. "Coming off a tough week of training, I felt more than prepared. I'm happy with the win but still think I need to be more aggressive in certain situations. My goal is to apply continuous pressure at all points in the match."
    Jamie Kilmer placed third in the White Division's 285-pound bracket. Kilmer defeated wrestlers from RIT and Heidelberg before being decisioned by Hogan Swenski, wrestling unattached out of Ohio State, in the championship semifinals. Kilmer rebounded with a thrilling sudden-victory win against Wyatt Bailey, wrestling unattached out of Ashland, in the Third Place match.
    Marcus Jean-Baptiste took third place in the 141-pound bracket of the Gold Division. Following a loss to an NCAA Division I wrestler in the championship quarterfinals, Jean-Baptiste blew through the consolations with a major decision and medical forfeit. He defeated Tiffin's Matt Zuckerman, 5-3, in the Third Place match.
    Jonah Smith was fourth in the White Division's 149-pound bracket. He blew through three straight matches with a first-period fall, technical fall and shutout decision before losing to his teammate, Watters, in the championship semifinal.
    Defending NCAA Division II national champion Cole Laya settled for sixth place in the Gold Division's 125-pound bracket after dropping a nail-biter of a 5-4 decision to three-time NCAA Division I national qualifier Malik Heinselman of Ohio State in the championship quarterfinals. Laya worked back through the consolation bracket before taking a medical forfeit in Fifth Place match.
    Carter Winegardner placed eighth in the White Division's 149-pound bracket. Battling back through the consolations after dropping his opening match, Winegardner defeated wrestlers from Kent State, RIT and Notre Dame (Ohio) before being decisioned by Jack Haskin, wrestling unattached out of Lake Erie, in the Seventh Place match.
    "With not getting to wrestle our dual last week, we had to make some adjustments," Irwin said. "For some of our guys today, our plan was to just have them wrestle two or three matches at most. We don't want to take medical forfeits but felt we needed to today to preserve our health and be ready for next weekend at Findlay."
    The WLU wrestlers close out their pre-Thanksgiving slate on Saturday when they travel to Findlay, Ohio for the prestigious Findlay Open.