Hargrove’s Placing Headlines Statesmen Efforts at MVC Invite

Marshall, Mo.--Cameron Hargrove (Sr., Bolingbrook, Ill., Sports Management) had a great showing in a mini preview of nationals as the Statesmen men's wrestling team competed at the Missouri Valley Invitational Friday and Saturday.

As a team, WPU placed 20th out of 50 teams with 45.5 points, while Grand View won the team title with 248 points.

Hargrove led the charge by finishing fourth at 165 pounds.  The senior, who entered No. 14 in the NAIA, won five of his six contested bouts, including two by technical fall and one by fall.  He defeated No. 13 Bridger Hall of Providence (Mont.), while his lone setback was an 8-6 decision to No. 4 Dylan Whitt of Grand View in the semifinals.

The trio of 133-pounder Lane Scorpil (Jr., Columbus Junction, Iowa, Business Management), 157-pounder Trent Evans (So., Houston, Texas, Mechanical Engineering), and 184-pounder Branson Bottorff (Sr., Mackinaw, Ill., Industrial Technology) all posted 3-2 records, but just missed placing in the top eight.

Scorpil had three falls, while Evans managed two technical falls and one major decision.  Bottorff finished with one fall and one technical fall as well.

Hector Diaz (Sr., Miami, Fla., Human Services) pinned one foe at 149 pounds, while 285-pounder Skyler Young (So., Eddyville, Iowa, Physical Education) collected one major decision victory.  174-pounder Ryan Van Donselaar (Sr., Otley, Iowa, Exercise Science) also had his hand raised over the weekend.

"I think the team wrestled a really solid tournament, especially with it being the toughest one we will be in all year," Head Coach Drew Sams said.  "This was definitely a rollercoaster, but I felt like we were able to ride the ups a little longer and shorten the downs.  I am happy we got four guys to the second day, while also getting some wins over ranked opponents to bolster our own rankings.  Even our close losses will help us to build confidence as we get closer to the postseason."

Next Up: William Penn travels to Crete, Neb. next Friday to face Doane in a non-conference dual meet at 6 p.m.