From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
Case Western Reserve University senior Nick Lees and freshman Brian McNamara each earned wins on Friday at the Pete Willson Invitational, hosted by Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill.
Competing in the 174-pound weight class, Lees opened the tournament with a pin of Olivet's Harvey Jake at the 1:08 mark of his match. After falling by major decision to Messiah's Ben Swarr, the second seed in the bracket and seventh-seeded DIII wrestler in the weight class, Lees bounced back with a pin of Ferrum's Blake Rosenbaum at the 2:40 mark. His day was ended by a 3-2 loss to Wisconsin-LaCrosse's Mitch Hertel.
The two pins give Lees a team-best eight for the season, and his 12-10 overall record is the best by a Spartan for the campaign.
Competing in just his second-career event, McNamara earned a victory by decision, 4-2, over the third-seeded wrestler in the heavyweight bracket, Wisconsin-Platteville's D'Andre Johnson. He would later fall to the sixth seed, Olivet's Jesse Judge, in the quarterfinals, and drop a 4-1 decision to Muskingum's Antonio Zapata in the wrestlebacks.
Lees and McNamara combined to score 7.5 points for the Spartans during the Invitational. Action at the Pete Willson Invite will continue on Saturday, although no CWRU wrestlers will be competing.