LC Wrestlers Place 11 at Millikin Open

[November 15, 2017] 

The Lincoln College Wrestling program made another strong showing at their second event of the season. LC entered twelve athletes in the Millikin University Open on Saturday. Eleven of those twelve placed in the event which featured some of the top NJCAA, NCAA DIII, and NAIA programs in the mid-west. In all, eleven colleges were represented in the double-elimination tournament field.

The Lynx had one champion and two other finalists on the day. Sophomore Ethan Reel battled his way through four rounds to emerge as champion of the 157 lb. weight class. Along the way, the Washington High School grad won two matches by pinning his opponent and two by major decision. Reel left no doubt he was deserving of the crown as he defeated his opponent from Central College in Iowa (NCAA) 13-1.

Other finalists for Lincoln included freshman Lane Litwiller (Hopedale) and sophomore Christian Kanzler (Fox Lake). Litwiller finished second in the 133 lb. division, while Kanzler lost a close 6-3 decision in the final of the 141 lb. division.

Strong performances were turned in by LC wrestlers in other divisions as well. Jarod Foiles, a sophomore from Roxana, took fourth in the 149 lb. division. In the 125 lb. weight class, freshman Eusibio Rivera (Coal City) finished sixth while fellow freshman Andrew Rodriguez (Sterling) was seventh. For Foiles and Rodriguez, this event was their first action of the season.

Lincoln College Coach Mike Mena is pleased with the progress his wrestlers are showing at this early stage of the season. “We are starting to see the kind of consistently positive results over time that we want out of our guys,” said Mena. “This was a high-caliber event, so to come out of it with as many wrestlers placed as highly as we did is a very encouraging result.”

The Lynx will take to the mats for their first home event of the season this Thursday evening. LC will host a MacMurray College for a dual event that begins at 7:00 p.m. in the Lincoln Center.

Note: The Hampton Inn Duals home event scheduled for Saturday, has been cancelled.

[Mark Tippett
Lincoln College
Sports Information]