Indianapolis - The Maryville wrestling team closed out action for the 2023 calendar year at the Midwest Classic in Indianapolis.
 
Evan Binder finished eighth at 133 to highlight the Saints tournament. After dropping his opener to the No. 5 wrestler in the country Reece Barnhardt, he bounced back with a fall in the consolation bracket. Binder posted back-to-back decisions, then notched a 12-4 major. In the quarterfinals, he toppled 11th-ranked Jason Henschel of Northern State before getting edged out in a 4-1 decision. The seventh-place contest was a rematch against Barnhardt but Binder took a narrow 6-4 defeat in that contest.
 
Kody Ketchum lost his opener against the No. 6 ranked wrestler at 141 but recorded an 11-1 major in the consolation draw. He recorded a 6-2 win then added an 8-0 shutout. However, Ketchum saw his run end with a defeat to No. 7 Jake Niffeneger.
 
At 157, John Bamvakais lost his opener to Devin Bahr who ranks 10th nationally. In the back draw, he worked a sudden victory decision then recorded a fall in 1:11. Bamvakais lost to No. 11 Eric Faught to end his tournament. Cole Ritter started his day at 165 with a 15-0 tech fall, then added a pin in 5:59 to advance. He lost to the No. 11 wrestler in the country to drop into the consolation bracket. Ritter recorded a 12-3 major then dominated in a 17-2 tech fall. However, his day ended with a narrow 8-6 loss.
 
Jeramiah Larson posted consecutive falls to start his day at 197. He posted a pin at the 3:59 mark and followed with a fall at 5:31. Larson dropped a decision to No. 11 Tereus Henry and saw his run end in the consolation bracket. In the heavyweight classification, Ryan Herman shutout his foe 5-0 to start his day but lost a narrow 2-0 decision to No. 7 Isaiah Vance. Herman notched a 23-8 tech fall and followed up with a fall in 3:51 to advance. However, his day ended with a loss to No. 2 ranked Juan Edmond-Holmes.

The Saints take a break and are not back in action again until they host the Bongo/Bayly Open Saturday, Jan. 6, in Moloney Arena.