Fowler shines at Missouri Valley Invite

MARSHALL, Mo. – The Calumet College of St. Joseph wrestling team headed to the Missouri Valley Invitational on January 17-18, taking on a loaded field of nationally-ranked teams. The Wave finished the weekend in 30th place of the 75 teams competing, led by Nick Fowler (SR/Gary, Ind.) who placed third in the 285 bracket.

Fowler continued his pursuit to earning his third trip to the NAIA National Championships, finishing opening day of competition with a perfect 3-0 record. After receiving a bye in to kick off the day, Fowler defeated KC Buday (University of Providence) 16-0. He advanced to the quarterfinal round with a 9-2 victory over Maleek Canton (William Baptist).

Fowler's lone loss on the weekend came at the hands of Ashton Mutuwa (Campbellsville), 5-4. He rebounded to pick up a 10-1 win over Jake Miller (Baker) in the consolation match. Fowler then avenged his earlier loss to Mutuwa with a pin to capture third place overall.

In the 197 bracket, Dennis Weston (FR/Merrillville, Ind.) picked up a 5-1 win in round two over Justin Vargas (Wesleyan Baptist) after an opening bye. He was pinned by Jacob Wiley (Morningside) in the final match of the day to drop to the consolation bracket. On Saturday, Weston was pinned by Dayton Brown (Missouri Valley).

Latrell Lewis (SO/Portage, Ind.), wrestling in the 141 bracket, lost to 9-1 to Zachary Durbin (Missouri Valley) after an opening round bye. He was eliminated by Parker Wright (Ottawa), 8-1.

The Wave will return to action on January, 31, hosting Hannibal-LaGrange University (Mo.).