Wrestling season ends with broken wings

Provided by — Elmhurst University

The Elmhurst University Wrestling team finished their season with a 6th place finish at the CCIW Championships on Feb. 9.

Their top finisher was junior Norbert Crecan, who finished second in his weight class, only falling to first by medical forfeit.

Crecan won by fall over Milwaukee School of Engineering’s Colin Duren in the quarterfinals, then by a 6-4 decision over Concordia University Wisconsin’s Ruben Vasquez.

Senior Roberto Pena followed Crecan, winning third place in his division. Pena won by fall over Wheaton’s Riley Howard in the quarterfinals, but lost to North Central’s Robby Bates in the semifinal. 

Pena won in a 3-2 decision in the consolation semi against Millikian’s Ryder Marshall, and earned his third place standing by a fall over Aurora University’s Cam’Ron Harper.

One more Bluejay made it to the semifinals, senior Justin Hames. Hames got into his semifinal match by a 8-0 decision over Aurora’s Tyler Evitts. 

He lost to North Central’s Robbie Precin in the semifinals, but won his consolation match against Concordia University Wisconsin’s Emilio Acosta in a 13-9 decision. Hames fell to Millikian’s Coby Haney for his fourth place finish.

The Bluejays were 5-6 overall and 3-5 in conference play before the championship meet.

With losses to Millikin University and Augustana College, the Bluejays had a slow start. They then had a scattering of wins and losses throughout their season.

Injuries were an issue for the Bluejays all season. Jake Mora, who qualified for the national tournament last season, was someone the team was looking to lead this year, but an unfortunate injury early in the season kept him from competing. 

With all the injuries, the Bluejays have had to rely on young talent to carry the reins later in the season. It was one of the freshmen who made an impact this season.

“One surprise has been Colin O’Neil, he is a freshman wrestling at 197 pounds and has won lots of tough matches for us this year.” said Hames.

Despite this season not going in their favor, with a slow start and many injuries, the Bluejays had hoped to finish strong heading into the offseason.