Grapplers finish 9th in Vegas Tourney

The IU wrestling team fell on some bad luck in Sin City this weekend during the 27th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Open.

Despite getting three members of the team in the top 10 out of 44 teams, including a third place finish by 174-pound wrestler Trevor Perry, the squad faced many unfavorable matchups against preseason ranked opponents on the road to its ninth-place finish at the open.

Nate Everhart began Friday with a pin against Cody Jamgaand of Dickinson State, but then faced up against No. 6 Benjamin Berhow of Minnesota and slipped out of championship contention with a 3-2 decision in favor of Berhow. Everheart then faced No. 5 Dustin Rogers of West Virginia and lost a 7-4 decision, ruining his chances at a medal.

Matt Powless, at 197 pounds, faced a ranked opponent in his first match Friday, losing 20-6 to No. 7 Cam Simaz of Cornell. Powless then fought his way through the wrestlebacks toward a matchup with No. 8 ranked Joe Kennedy of Leigh University and lost a decision 7-1, sending him to into the seventh-place match against unranked DJ Bruce of Virginia Tech. He lost the match 17-3, finishing eighth.

Sophomore Kurt Kinser,, ranked No. 9 nationally by InterMat as of Dec. 2, recorded several victories in the 157 weight division before falling to the second place winner at the open, pre-season top ranked Jordan Leen of Cornell. He then lost a wrestleback match to No. 5 Chase Pami of Cal Poly in a 6-2 decision. But he ended the day on a high note, upsetting No. 6 ranked Jason Johnstone in a close 5-4 matchup to claim seventh place.

The team wound up placing behind several other Big Ten competitors, including Minnesota, Purdue, and Michigan, while it came out on top of Ohio State, Wisconsin and Illinois.

The Hoosiers will compete next at the F.I.T.E. Duals on Dec. 21 in Oak Lawn, Ill. They will face off against Eastern Michigan University, Harper College and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.