FRANKLIN SPRINGS, Ga. – The Lander wrestling team opened its individual tournament schedule Sunday with four individual championships and three runner-up finishes at the Georgia Open.
Vic Cusatis (149),
Johan Alcantara-Lund (157),
Jacob Rodriguez (184) and
Jax Finch (285) each captured individual titles, while
George Maholtz (133),
Wylan Damon (165) and Jowell Jones (174) advanced to the championship matches in their respective weight classes.
At 149 pounds, Cusatis put together a dominant performance, recording five victories on his way to the tournament title. After opening with a technical fall and a pin, Cusatis defeated Newberry's Elijah Johnson, 15-9, in the quarterfinals before earning a 9-4 decision over Ronny Marlow in the semifinals. He capped his run with a 16-1 technical fall over Southeastern's Walter Kusterbeck in the championship match.
Lund followed with an impressive showing at 157 pounds, winning all five of his matches to claim the title. He opened with consecutive first-period pins before earning back-to-back major decisions in the quarterfinals and semifinals. In the championship match, Lund held off Campbellsville's Randall Sliger for a 12-9 decision.
Rodriguez claimed the 184-pound championship with four victories, including two technical falls and a pin. After advancing through the opening rounds, Rodriguez earned an 18-3 technical fall over Southeastern's Ciaran Braton in the semifinals before shutting out Timothy Brown of Southeastern, 5-0, in the championship match.
At heavyweight, Finch recorded four victories to secure the 285-pound title. He opened the tournament with consecutive pins before defeating teammate
Mason Nate, 8-3, in the semifinals. Finch then edged Life University's Leonard Christian, 4-3, in the championship match.
One of the Bearcats' notable victories came at 141 pounds, where
Collin Oden defeated 10th-ranked Brayden Gibson of Shorter, 12-8, in the quarterfinals. Gibson entered the tournament ranked No. 10 nationally in the NCAA Division II preseason coaches rankings. Oden also recorded two pins during the tournament, including a first-period fall over Nicolas Owens in the consolation semifinals.
Maholtz, ranked No. 13 nationally at 133 pounds, narrowly missed adding another championship for Lander, falling to Cohen Hargrove in a 2-1 decision in the title match.
At 165 pounds, Damon advanced to the championship match after earning a 14-7 semifinal decision over Montevallo's Talan McNutt. He ultimately finished as the runner-up following a narrow 7-5 loss to Lincoln Memorial's James Thaxton.
Jones also earned a runner-up finish at 174 pounds, advancing to the championship match with a 10-9 semifinal victory over Keiser's Kalel Hernandez before falling by technical fall to Campbellsville's Wiley Suskawicz.
Several other Bearcats earned podium finishes, including
Jaxton Freeman at 149 pounds and
Daniel Gonzalez at 157 pounds, who each claimed third place.
Freeman battled through the consolation bracket with four victories, finishing his tournament with three consecutive pins. He secured third place by pinning Truett-McConnell's Ely Raines in the third-place match.
Gonzalez opened his tournament with three consecutive pins before earning a 6-3 decision over Emmanuel's Brady Simms in the consolation semifinals. He secured third place by forfeit over Keiser's Joshua Brown.
At 197 pounds,
Jacob Hudgins claimed third place after recording three victories, all by bonus points. Hudgins finished his tournament with a first-period pin over Montevallo's Dalton Wainwright.
Michael Fischer added a seventh-place finish at 141 pounds, closing his tournament with a 16-0 technical fall over Shorter's William DeSanto.
Ryder Schlaterbrand earned fifth place at 165 pounds, recording four victories, including two major decisions and a technical fall. He concluded his tournament with a 22-8 major decision over Keiser's Julian Razavi.
The Bearcats will open Conference Carolinas play this week as they travel to Mount Olive, N.C. to face the Mount Olive Trojans and Ferrum Panthers. Action is set to begin at 5 p.m.
