WEST LIBERTY, W. Va. – The Urbana wrestling team finished fifth at the inaugural Mountain East Conference Championship on Saturday at the ASRC.
UU finished with 63 points, led by All-MEC second teamer Cole Houser at 157 pounds and All-MEC honorable mention performer Jared Ford at 149 pounds.
As the No. 2 seed at 157, Houser advanced to the weight class finals after an 8-4 decision over UNC-Pembroke's Sammy Peticos in the semifinal. The Bellefontaine native nearly pulled off the upset over No. 1 seed Taylor Misuna of Notre Dame College. Houser recorded a takedown in each of the first and third periods, but Misuna was credited with a nearfall right before the final whistle to edge Houser, 7-5.
Ford entered as the No. 4 seed at 149 and produced three wins. He started off with a pin (1:19) over Fairmont State's Digger Dennison before falling in a narrow decision to top-seeded Tyler Makosy of UNC-Pembroke. Then, Ford rebounded with another pin (1:57), this time over Notre Dame College's Jesse Jaime, to advance to the third-place bout where he came out on top 5-2 over C.J. Thompson from Davis & Elkins, who was seeded third. Ford recorded two takedowns in the second period to gain control of the final match.
Alec Fulwider finished fifth in the 133 bracket, ending the day with an impressive 8-1 decision over Fairmont State's Levi Smith. Fulwider was seeded sixth to begin the tournament.
In addition, Jake Edwards registered a sudden victory over Fairmont State's Devan Hamrick in the 141 quarterfinals. Dylan Knotts picked up a fifth-place finish at 174 pounds after recently bumping up a class. Connor Dixon, Major Stratton and Nick Baker finished fifth at 184, 197 and heavyweight, respectively.
UNC Pembroke claimed the first Mountain East Conference Wrestling Championship team title.
The Braves finished the tournament with 115.5 points and had five individuals win championships.
West Liberty was second with 107 points, followed closely by Notre Dame with 106 points. The Falcons also had five individuals win titles, including the nation's No. 1-ranked wrestler, Hunter Bray, who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler. He won both of his matches by major decision.
Davis & Elkins finished fourth with 69 points, followed by Urbana (63) and Fairmont State (52).
UP NEXT: UU has two events remaining before the NCAA Super Regionals. The Blue Knights travel to UIndy on Sunday, Feb. 9 for the Greyhound Open, before returning for the home finale on Valentine's Day, Friday, Feb. 14.
