ADA, Ohio – The Washington & Jefferson College wrestling team finished as the sixth-best team at the Ohio Northern Invitational.
Christian McChesney (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg-Salem) headed the Presidents' efforts with a second-place finish and 4-1 record in the 285-pound heavyweight class. McChesney commenced his trek through the bracket with an opening round win over Kevin Willis of Waynesburg by fall (1:42). He then defeated Dominic Marr of Mount St. Joseph by fall (3:35) and Jadon Brownlee of Ohio Northern by decision (4-0). McChesney advanced to the championship round by besting Kyle Magyar of Tiffin by decision (5-0) in the semifinals. In the championship bout, McChesney was best by Myles Johnson of Ohio Northern by tech fall (17-1).
Hunter Swedish (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley) finished the afternoon as the Presidents' next best finisher, taking fourth place with a 5-2 record in the 141-pound weight class. Swedish started off his day with a win by fall (3:56) against Sam Smith of Heidelberg and a win by tech fall (19-4) over Brayden Barbao of Waynesburg. After being knocked into the consolation bracket, Swedish picked up three additional victories. Swedish started his onslaught with a win by tach fall (17-2) over Josh Gibson of Heidelberg followed by a win by decision (10-7) over Gabe Hansen of Ohio Northern. His last victory of the day came on a win by fall (2:02) over Stuart Donlan of Olivet.
Jaden Fields (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) took seventh place in the 197-pound weight class with a 2-2 record on the day. Fields took his first triumph of the day over Karson Nail of Otterbein in the consolation bracket round four with a win by fall (0:44). His final victory of the day came in the seventh-place match where he pinned Paul Wilson of Heidelberg (3:41).
John Starusko (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) also snagged a seventh-place finish with a 3-2 record in the 174-pound weight class. Starusko earned his first win by tech fall (15-0) over teammate
Colin Feeney (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora). Starusko wrapped the day with a medical forfeit win and no contest advancement in the seventh-place match.
Jiovanni DeChicchis (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) wrapped the W&J wrestlers that earned placements in their respective weight classes. DeChicchis took eighth in the 165-pound weight class with a record of 2-3 on the day. He logged his first victory against Radley Spencer of Otterbein by major decision (13-1). His final win came against Aj Tomaino of Waynesburg by major decision (14-5). DeChicchis dropped his seventh place match by fall (1:52).
W&J Wrestling enters a brief break for the holiday season but will return to the mats Friday (Jan. 3) for their first appearance in 2025 at the Crytzer Duals. Their first dual against Washington and Lee is scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. start.
