Tiffin University's men's wrestling team had two individual champions and numerous second and third place standouts, eventually finishing 2nd at the GMAC Championships hosted by Kentucky Wesleyan College.
Ashland picked up the team title with 115 points, outpacing Tiffin's 75.5. Lake Erie was third with 73.5, while Findlay finished with 73.
Nicholas Mason (197 pounds) and Bryan LaVearn (165) were champions in their weight class. Mason picked up his third consecutive GMAC championship in dominating fashion, beating Findlay by pin in 59 seconds and taking the title over Ashland via injury at the 2:36 mark. LaVearn, meanwhile, won his second conference title with a pin over Findlay in 2:49, a 5-2 decision over Findlay in the semifinals, and a 4-0 shutout of Findlay in the title bout.
Bryce Allison (133) and David Henson (285) finished 2nd, garnering Second Team honors in the process. Allison made an impressive Dragons debut, posting a 2-1 decision over Lake Erie in the semifinals and coming up just short to Lake Erie in a 5-3 setback in the title match. Henson opened with a pin in 6:12 over Lake Erie and then posted an 8-0 decision over Findlay to advance to the championship. He fell 9-5 in a narrow loss to Ashland. The Second Team honor is his second all conference citation after taking First Team honors last season.
Brandon Mendoza (125) also had a nice debut for Tiffin, placing third. After beating Ashland 4-1, he suffered his only setback of the tourney, falling 5-4 to Ashland. He then finished with a 3-0 win over Kentucky Wesleyan and a 5-2 decision over Findlay for third place.
Matt Zuckerman (141) also took third, winning the third place match with a 1-0 escape against Findlay. He also had wins over Findlay 3-0 and Kentucky Wesleyan 5-2. His sole setback was to Ashland in a 3-2 loss to eventual champion Luke Wymer.
Collin Adkins (149) was Tiffin's final placer, taking third with a strong showing. His only setback was a 6-3 score against eventual champion Carson Speelman of Ashland. He then posted wins over Lake Erie (pin 4:25), Findlay 14-8, and Ashland (pin 2:08) in the third place match.
Also recognized was the sport's first Elite 23 Award winner as Tiffin's Nicholas Smythe carries a 3.96 GPA while majoring in accounting. Smythe, typically competing at 184 pounds, was in the starting lineup for the Dragons vs. UIndy and Davenport, but was unable to compete in his weight bracket due to an injury.
Smythe is the second Tiffin student-athlete to receive an Elite 23 Award from the league, officially joining men's cross country student-athlete Jacob Zinn for academic prowess.
Tiffin next looks to host the Super Region 3 Tournament on Feb. 27 in the Heminger Center.