Wrestling faced off against Illinois Wesleyan in the Griswold Center and had a very successful outing.
Millikin walked away with a dominant 45-3 win over Wesleyan and was one match away from a clean sweep.
Millikin’s 125-pounder Pierson Wilkerson started, as usual, and in a hard-fought match, won 7-0.
“I feel good. I feel like I started the team off really well, you know, we’ve been practicing hard,” he said.
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After a forfeit win for Charlie Armstrong, we saw freshman 141-pounder Nathan Barbee take the stage and compete.
Unfortunately, the result would be a loss and would continue his 3-match losing streak.
Millikin’s coaching staff is confident in his progression and has faith that he could even become an All-American, just like his brother and assistant coach, Dejon Glaster.
“He’s a fiery young man, he wants to be great and he was frustrated with a loss, to their best guy… and sometimes it doesn’t go our way and that’s part of the process for a young guy, to take those losses and not take them too much to heart, and grow from them, but if he gets that under control, just like his brother he can be a multiple time All-American,” Head Coach Ryan Birt said.
Millikin would then go on to win all its matches and be victorious on the day.
Highlighted score lines were 15-0 win for Michael Hutchinson and 16-1 for Chase Mirelez. Additionally, Kody Marschner and Sabri Sino pinned their opponents.
Millikin as a unit won today, but the team is still ready to get better and understand that these are just stepping stones toward what they hope to accomplish this year.
“It feels good, but like I said earlier, you want to keep going. The goal is the end of February at the regional tournament and the second weekend of March at the national tournament,” Sino said. “This is nice, but whether you win or lose, there are lessons to learn.”
The team prepares for arguably their most complex challenge this year as they head to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to face off in the Coe College Tournament on Saturday, November 22nd.
As always, Millikin’s Wrestling expresses its gratitude to the fans and supporters who have been showing out.
“Family, thanks for coming, love you guys, coaches love you guys, friends love you guys, you know how it is,” Wilkerson said.
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