MOUNT VERNON, Iowa – Returning from a two-month break due to injury, freshman
Luke Kamish advanced all the way to the 149-pounds championship match at Cornell's Cliff Keen Mike Duroe Open on Saturday.
Kamish was one of four Pioneers to place at the open with junior
Kain Killmer (197-pounds) taking third, sophomore
Garrett Marks (141-pounds) placing fifth, and junior
Jackson Kirsch (285-pounds) finishing sixth.
Wrestling for the first time since mid-November, Kamish pinned his first opponent (0:44). The freshman then stacked four takedowns as he defeated his next opponent by major decision (13-4). A takedown and nearfall in the third period of his next match against Hold Brazelton of Coe led to another major decision (12-1). Kamish was trailing 5-2 against Koel Kurtz of Coe in the semifinal, but a last second takedown secured the win by 5-4 decision and advanced the Pioneer to the championship match.
No. 15 Killmer started off the day with a win by pinfall (1:45) followed by a win by major decision (11-1). The Pioneer's only setback was to No. 8 nationally ranked Ethan Winkelman of Augsburg in the third match of the day. Killmer bounced back with a win by 6-3 decision to advance to the third-place match. The junior then went on to tally four takedowns in his win by major decision (13-3) over Ethan Swenson of Augsburg.
Marks started off the day with a thrilling 5-4 decision and then a win by technical fall (22-5). The Pioneer moved to the consolation bracket after falling in his next match, but used an early takedown in his bout against Jayden Rael of Cornell to win by 4-2 decision. Then, trailing 7-2 in the fifth-place match, Marks pinned Brayden Burmeister (1:53) to capture fifth place.
In the 285-pounds bracket, Kirsch started the day on a roll, winning his first match by 3-2 decision, pinning his next opponent (2:43), and then winning a narrow 2-1 decision over Jake Walker of Wartburg. Kirsch dropped his final three matches where he faced two Top-10 ranked opponents. In the fifth-place match, Kirsch was tied 1-1 against No. 10 Markos Mihalopoulos of UW-La Crosse with less than a minute to go, but a late takedown forced the 5-2 decision in favor of the Eagle.
The Pioneers will return to action on Sunday, Jan. 25 when they host UW-Eau Claire at 2 p.m.
