Wrestling team captures team title at Mid-States Conference Tournament

Five individuals took first-place, as the Olivet College wrestling team captured the team title at the 2008 Mid-States Conference Tournament, which was hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terra Haute, Ind. In addition, junior Jason Brew (Sparta) was named the Wrestler of the Year, while freshman Vince Lahar (Clio) was selected as the Freshman of the Year.

The Comets tallied 162.5 points to beat the College of Mt. St. Joseph (Ohio) by 21.5 points. Tri-State (Ind.) University was third with 115.5 points, followed by Wabash (Ind.) Colllege, 85.5; Manchester (Ind.), 74.5; and Rose-Hulman, 69.5.

Winning individual titles for the Comets were Brew at 157 pounds, senior Daron Cruickshank (Inkster/John Glenn) at 165 pounds, junior Kyle Labrecque (Battle Creek/Lakeview) at 125 pounds, sophomore Sean Misko (Richmond) at 285 pounds and junior Kyle Vanderhyde (Sparta) at 174 pounds.

As the No. 1 seed, Brew had a 2-0 record with major decision wins (14-3 and 20-6). Cruickshank posted a 2-0 record (11-3 and 7-3). Labrecque, who was the No. 2 seed, had three wins. In the championship match, he recorded a takedown at the buzzer to win 4-3 over No. 1 seed Steve Austin from Mt. St. Joseph. Misko finished with three wins, including two by pin. With the score tied at 5-5 in the championship match, he titled No. 1 seed Robert Arnett from Wabash and recorded a first period pin in 2:00. Vanderhyde posted a 3-0 record. He pinned his first round opponent in 55 seconds, earned a 21-6 technical fall win in the semifinals and beat Tri-State's Nick Kraus, 8-3, in the championship match.

Finishing in third-place for Olivet was sophomore Blake Gardner (Mount Morris) at 133 pounds, junior Rob Yahrmarkt (Sparta) at 141 pounds and senior Tucker Surbrook (Potterville) at 197 pounds. Gardner had a 3-1 record, including a 15-4 major decision win in the third-place match. Yahrmarkt finished with a 2-1 mark, including a fall in 1:23 in the third-place match. Surbrook also had a 3-1 record, pinning his opponent in 1:12 in the third-place match.

Sophomore Joe Bargerstock (Livonia/Churchill) at 184 pounds placed fifth, while Lahar finished in sixth-place.

The Comets will be idle until next Saturday, Feb. 16, when they host Tri-State (Ind.) University at 7 p.m.