ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Maryville wrestling team picked up a statement victory on Senior Day, defeating No. 25-ranked University of Indianapolis 22-13 on Saturday afternoon. The Saints not only knocked off the Greyhounds, but also honored their five seniors prior to the dual.
Before the action, Maryville recognized seniors
Javier Gutierrez,
JP Homfeld,
Kody Ketchum,
Jeremiah Larson and
Cole Ritter.
The Saints won six of the 10 bouts on the afternoon, earning bonus points at 125, 157 and 174.
INS & OUTS
The tone setter, as usual, was
Elijah Almarinez. The freshman was relentless in the opening bout, scoring four takedowns to earn a major decision and give the Saints an early 4-0 lead. Almarinez improved to 19-8 on the season and has now won four straight dual matches.
After UIndy responded at 133,
Caleb Carter extended the Maryville lead to 7-3 with a sudden-victory takedown in overtime at 141. The Greyhounds evened the score with a win at 149 before
Nick Zamora delivered a momentum-shifting performance at 157. Zamora put on a clinic, recording four takedowns and a four-point near fall on his way to his first technical fall victory of the season.
The seniors took control from there. Gutierrez opened the stretch with a 6-3 decision at 165, and
Cole Ritter followed with an 11-0 major decision at 174 to push the Saints' lead to 19-7.
UIndy attempted to rally with wins at 184 and 197, but newcomer
Jonovan Smith sealed the dual at heavyweight with a win over No. 11-ranked Cale Gray. Smith, a former member of Team Puerto Rico at the 2024 Olympic Games, controlled the match throughout against the two-time national qualifier. A second-period escape and takedown proved to be the difference in Smith's Maryville debut.
MARYVILLE 22, #25 UINDY 13
125:
Elijah Almarinez over Jadon Gyan (MD 11-3)
133: No. 10 Aidan Sprague over JP Homfield (Dec 9-3)
141:
Caleb Carter over Zach Haughton (SV-1 8-5)
149: No. 11 Gavin Garcia over
Leo Buchheit (MD 16-4)
157: Nicholas Zamora over Michael Ortega (TF 22-5 5:08)
165: Javier Guitterrez over Mason Cantu (Dec 6-3)
174: No. 14
Cole Ritter over Shane Bates (MD 11-0)
184: Christian Chavez over
Dalton Litzsinger (Dec 8-1)
197: Ethan Farnell (UINDY) over No. 15
Jeremiah Larson (MU) (SV-1 8-5)
285:
Jonovan Smith (MU) over No. 11 Cale Gray (UINDY) (Dec 4-2)
UP NEXT
The Saints return to action Wednesday, Feb. 4, traveling to Quincy for a 6 p.m. dual.
