Opelt Paces Third At Luther Open
Sunday, November 16th, 2014 -- 7:31 PM
Sophomore Phillip Opelt from Neillsville placed third in the 133-pound Elite Division to head Cornell College's wrestlers at Saturday's Luther Open.The non-scored tournament featured more than 450 individuals from teams in all divisions at the NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA levels, including the University of Iowa.
Opelt made a strong showing in his weight class, going 4-1 on the day. He lost by fall in the third period to Iowa's top-seeded and eventual champion Cory Clark in the semifinals.
Opelt, ranked No. 10 in the NWCA Division III Poll, claimed a 10-1 major decision over Warburg's Connor Campo in the consolation semifinals and then beat UW-Whitewater's Trevor Pruett in the third-place bout, 9-7.
Opelt opened the tournament with a pin in 4:58 over Luther's Brennen Russell, followed by a 3-1 victory against Dakota Wangsness of Upper Iowa.
Coming up ? The Rams face three nationally-ranked opponents at the University of Iowa Duals Friday in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Cornell opens against NAIA's 16th-ranked Baker at 9 a.m., followed by a 10:30 a.m. dual with NJCAA's third-ranked Iowa Central. The Rams close the day at noon against the NCAA Division I third-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.