ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. (Jan. 25) -- The Thiel College wrestling team placed eighth out of 10 teams with 40.5 team points at Elizabethtown College's D. Kenneth Ober Invitational Saturday in the Bowers Center.
Joey King (Cooperstown, Pa./Maplewood) placed second at 197 pounds for his third top-two finish of the season. King topped Peter Grippo of Stevens Tech with his third fall of the season (1:49). He notched an 18-2 technical fall (3:07) over Cortland's Elijah Myers to advance to the semifinals. King then bested Shippensburg's Diesel Koser in the semifinals by a 4-0 decision to advance to his third championship bout of the season where he forfeited the final to Elizabethtown's Will Davis.
King improves to 11-2 on the year following Saturday's tournament. King took first at 184 pounds at the Washington and Jefferson Invitational (Nov. 9) and second at 197 pounds in the Baldwin Wallace Invitational (Nov. 23).
Seth Phillips (Hubbard, Ohio/Western Reserve) took home fourth at heavyweight in his first tournament action of the season. Phillips downed Roanoke's John Drury with a 15-0 tech. fall (5:00) in his first bout before losing to Messiah's Micah Martinez by fall (1:22). In the consolation bracket, Phillips downed teammate
Zak Dillingham (Ford City, Pa./Armstrong) by a 9-2 decision then pinned Benjamin Rosa of Stevens Tech (1:30) to advance to the third-place bout. Phillips, like King, forfeited his final bout of the day.
Phillips improves to 4-4 on the year following his 3-2 day. He has won two of his contests via pin on the year.
At 125 pounds,
EJ McCarthy (Hubbard, Ohio/Hubbard) picked up his second pin of the season.
Chase Kyler (Sheffield, Pa./Sheffield) notched his first pin of the year and fourth win of the season at 141 pounds.
Landon Mead (Clarendon, Pa./Sheffield) logged his second fall of the year at 157 while
Howie Congdon (Homestead, Pa./West Mifflin) picked up his second win and first pin of the season at 197 pounds.
Joey Peterson (4-1 Dec.) picked up a win at 285 while Dillingham picked up his first pin and win of the season at heavyweight.
Wrestling returns to action Wednesday for Senior Night in a PAC dual with Hiram at 7 p.m. on Maenpa Court at Beeghly Gymnasium.
