*Story by Andy Riesenberg
ANGOLA, Indiana - Chris Beltre earned the Wilmington College wrestling team its first placer of the 2019-20 season at the Trine Invitational hosted by Trine University on Saturday.
Chris Beltre, competing in the 149-pound weight class, started off with three wins over his opponents - Ben Black of Wheaton College by technical decision (21-5), Eathan Huffman of Mount St. Joseph University in the second round by fall in 42 seconds and Jonathan Fritz of Olivet College in the quarterfinals by fall (4:42). Beltre would face his first loss of the day when he ran into Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) foe Aaron Kelly of Baldwin Wallace University in the semifinals, losing by technical decision (16-0). He would then face his only other loss of the tournament against Ethan Harsted of Wheaton by fall (2:06). Beltre then won the fifth-place match over Nate Wheller of Indiana Tech by no contest.
"We had a tough week as a team this week, but the guys responded today with a good day of wrestling," Head Coach Justin Kihn said. "The support they showed for each other will help us to grow together. Congratulations to Chris Beltre on a great day."
In other highlights, Clayton Schirmer, competing in the 157-pound weight class won by major decision over Eric Fomekong of Mount St. Joseph (11-2) in the second round. Jaymon Flaugher, in the 165-pound class, also won by fall over teammate Patrick Kelley (1:52). In the third round, however, Flaugher would lose to Mack Groah of Baldwin Wallace by fall (1:26). Seth Jermer, also earned a win by decision in the heavy weight 285-pound class over Desmond Harrell of Mount St. Joseph (4-0) in round two.
Wilmington had several other individuals competing in various weight classes that didn't claim a match win – Zack Gutknecht (125-pound), Adrian Salamone (141-pound), Clayton Schirmer (157-pound) and Patrick Kelley (165-pound).
The Quakers return to action at home, on Nov. 16th as they compete in their second OAC dual match against Otterbein University.
