Opelt Captures Matman Crown
Sunday, January 17th, 2016 -- 3:10 PM
Cornell College Junior, Phillip Opelt of Neillsville joined an exclusive list of Ram wrestlers to win two Cornell Matman Invitational titles in claiming the 133-pound crown at Saturday's 38th annual event in Mount Vernon, Iowa.Opelt was one of three finalists and nine placewinners for the 11th-ranked Rams, who took third in the 16-team field with 132.5 points. Wartburg posted a winning score of 173.5 points, followed by Stevens Institute of Technology with 152.5.
The top-seeded Opelt recorded a 14-7 decision over Reid Johnson of UW-La Crosse in the championship bout. The Ram junior broke open a 4-4 tie behind two takedowns and a pair of two-point nearfalls over the final two periods.
Opelt (14-5) began his day with a 16-0 technical fall. He then earned a 5-1 sudden victory in the semifinals over Quinn Miracle of UW-La Crosse.
Opelt is the eighth Ram to claim multiple Matman championships in a career. He also went out a champion his freshman season.
Saturday's tournament featured 233 wrestlers and witnessed 541 total bouts.
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