Wrestlers finish fourth at North Central

After ripping through his first four opponents, second-year Andrew Bribriesco had an opportunity to wrap up his bracket and earn a little payback at the same time.

He couldn’t close it out, dropping his second bout 4-2 against seventh-ranked David Silva of Elmhurst in four days at the North Central Invite on Saturday. His second-place finish in the 141-pound class helped pace the Maroons to the tournament’s fourth place.

Chicago delivered on that potential, though it came from some unexpected sources. The team was led by Bribriesco and fourth-year Ai Nguyen, who finished on the wrong end of an 8-3 score in the 125-pound championship.

Second-year Mike Bishoff went 4-1 on the weekend to earn third-place honors at 165 pounds. Fourth-year Sean Barnes lost his rematch with sixth-ranked Bryan Morgan 3-2 to drop to fourth in the heavyweight bracket. Second-year Phil Kruzel knocked off two seeded wrestlers and a teammate to grab fourth place at 174 pounds.

Tillman and Kruzel had not placed at the Cornell Invite, but they grabbed eighth and sixth place, respectively, at North Central. Second-year Ben Barnes, who finished second at 184 pounds in the previous tournament, was upset in his first match against unseeded Byron Sanders of Rose Hulman, and went 1-1 in relegation to close out of the running.

The 28th-ranked Maroons finished behind 19th-ranked Coe, 12th-ranked Elmhurst, and 27th ranked North Central, but ahead of 13 other squads, including 25th-ranked Olivet. The team will next compete at the Manchester Invite on Saturday.