Cornell had five wrestlers place in the Silver Division at the Luther College Open, highlighted by a championship effort from freshman 197-pounder Jackson Brinker.
Brinker showed well in his first collegiate tournament, going 3-0 with a decision and two first-period falls. He defeated Luther’s Garrett Kilgas in the championship match, 8-4.
Brinker recorded a pin in 2:24 in his first-round bout against Rochester’s Martin Prieto. He then made quick work of Nebraska Wesleyan’s Triston Stearns in the semifinals with a fall in 23 seconds.
Freshman Jayden Rael placed third at 125 with a 4-1 record, which included a fall and major decision. He beat UW-Whitewater’s Jalen Dunson in the third-place match, 3-1.
Gabriel Smith was impressive with impressive with three pins on his way to a fourth-place showing at 157. He fell 6-2 to UW-Whitewater’s Luke Schmerbach in the third-place bout and finished the day 3-2.
The Rams landed two placewinners in the 141-pound bracket. Eli Sneed took fifth with a 4-1 mark, capped by a 3-2 decision over Wisconsin’s Danny Gaskill in his place match. Carter Fecht finished eighth, going 1-2.
Earlier in the week, the Rams swept Iowa Wesleyan 26-23.
Cornell’s wrestling team sent 18 wrestlers to the mat in Wednesday’s double-dual sweep over Iowa Wesleyan, 26-23, and host St. Ambrose, 38-3, to stay unbeaten this season.
Senior Cory Stewart at 165 pounds and sophomore Nick DeMunno at 184 both finished 2-0 to guide the Rams, who improved to 3-0 in dual action.
Freshman 197-pounder Jackson Brinker recorded a meet-clinching pin in 17 seconds to push the Rams past Iowa Wesleyan. Brinker was among four Rams to score bonus points in the victory, which included falls from freshmen Jayden Rael at 125 (3:56) and Eli Sneed at 141 (6:46).
Stewart posted a 17-2 technical fall in 3:29. The Rams received a 10-7 decision from DeMunno.
The Rams had no trouble against St. Ambrose, winning nine of the 10 matches. Stewart capped his strong night with a pin in 4:00. DeMunno also won by fall in a quick 1:31.
The Rams received major decisions from freshman Jase Van Pelt (12-3 at 125) and sophomore Dahson DeJong (15-2 at 174).
Cornell 149-pounder Landon Card prevailed 7-3 over Daniel Terronez. Freshman Gabriel Smith was an 8-5 winner at 157 and Treyten Steffen a 5-3 victor at 197. Freshman heavyweight Landen Schemmel finished the night with a 4-3 decision, highlighted by a go-ahead takedown in the final period.
Evan Husko received a forfeit at 133.
The Rams held an 18-8 advantage in total takedowns against St. Ambrose.
Coming up – Cornell competes next Saturday at the UW-Eau Claire 8-Man Battles in Eau Claire, Wis.