From Case Western Reserve University Athletics

A small contingent from the Case Western Reserve University wrestling team placed 25th of 32 schools competing at the annual Pete Willson Invitational on Friday and Saturday, January 30-31 at King Arena.

Freshman Aaran Gessic (Perry, Ohio/Perry) was the top CWRU performer over the two-day competition with a seventh-place finish in the 141-pound division.

Gessic opened with a 16-1 technical fall against junior Justin Wolfenden of the Milwaukee School of Engineering then picked up a 13-3 major decision versus Olivet College (Mich.) sophomore Curtis Blackwell. In the third round, the sixth-seeded Gessic dropped a 3-1 decision to third-seeded and No. 10 nationally ranked Matt Adcock, a sophomore from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

In the wrestle-back bracket, Gessic closed out day one with a win against a familiar opponent, sophomore John Connick of local-rival John Carroll University, via a 5-0 decision. 

On Saturday morning, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh freshman Craig Mason sent Gessic to the seventh-place match with a 2-0 decision. In his final match of the weekend, Gessic knocked off fifth-seeded Bryant Roby, a sophomore from the University of Mount Union, 4-0.

For the season, Gessic is 18-3 with five pins and two technical falls.

Also winning multiple matches for the weekend, sophomore Nick Lees went 2-2 at 174 with a pair of pins. For the season, Lees leads the Spartans with eight wins by pin fall. He is also 14-11 overall.