KENOSHA — The Carthage College men's wrestling team crowned an individual champion and produced three additional top-three finishes Saturday at the CCIW Wrestling Championships as the team finished sixth with 76.5 points.
Edgar Albino captured the conference title at 141 pounds, while
Chris Kish (125) and
Zaren Anderson (157) each earned runner-up honors and
CJ Gilbert placed third at 165.
Kish advanced to the championship bout with a fall in 6:46 over Augustana's Jack Reina and an 8-3 semifinal decision against Elmhurst's Alejandro Cordova. In the final, he fell to nationally ranked Christian Guzman of North Central (Ill.) by technical fall, 17-2 (4:42).
Albino delivered Carthage's top performance of the day. After a narrow 3-2 decision over Illinois Wesleyan's Austin Johnston in the quarterfinals, he recorded a 14-2 major decision in the semifinals against Augustana's Matt Lucansky. Albino then secured the title with a 10-8 decision over nationally ranked Joshua Robison of North Central (Ill.) in the championship match.
At 157, Anderson reached the final with a 23-4 technical fall against Augustana's Gianni Panozzo and a 13-2 major decision over Millikin's Michael Hutchison. He finished second after a 4-1 decision loss to Elmhurst's Rhenzo Augusto.
CJ Gilbert battled back following a semifinal loss to earn third place at 165. He opened with a 17-1 technical fall over Augustana's Noah DeMarco, then recorded a fall in 2:09 over Wheaton (Ill.)'s Taggart Kazmierczak in the consolation semifinals. Gilbert secured third with an 8-1 decision against Aurora's Jack Seacrist.
Maxwell Schmitt finished sixth at 174 pounds, highlighted by a 12-2 major decision over Illinois Wesleyan's Eli Moore and a fall in 3:20 against Augustana's William Hittinger. London Kiser also placed sixth at 184, opening his day with a 10-6 decision against Wheaton (Ill.)'s Jacob Kraker.
Kayden Serrano picked up a consolation victory at 149, defeating Wheaton (Ill.)'s Nicholas Bittner 8-7. Evan Glowinski (133), Jared Werner (197) and Christian Gielow (285) also competed for the Firebirds.
Maxwell Schmitt was this year's CCIW RESPECT award winner for Carthage. The CCIW RESPECT Award honors one student-athlete per varsity team each season who exemplifies Responsibility, Enthusiasm, Service, Pride, Excellence, Collaboration, and Trust.
Carthage will compete in the NCAA Regionals in Eau Claire, Wis. on Friday, February 27 starting at 9 a.m.
