The Brewton-Parker men's wrestling program competed at the Life University Open in Marietta, Ga. on Saturday.
A total of three BPC grapplers earned placements in the competition in a huge field comprised of colleges from several different levels as well as a few clubs and unattached individuals.
Lucas DeSilva gathered the highest finish of any Brewton-Parker wrestler with a second-place finish in the 184-lb open division. He opened the championship round with a first-round bye before taking on Belmont Abbey's (N.C.) Mason Kump. In round two versus Kump, DeSilva won with a pin at 3:17 in the round to advance to the quarterfinal round.
During the quarterfinal bout, DeSilva challenged Reinhardt's (Ga.) Kyle Homet and won by decision (8-4) to move on to the semifinals. Lucas continued his dominant form in the semifinal round against an unattached Harlod Gilmore by way of a 12-5 decision for an opportunity to compete in the first-place match. In the final bout, DeSilva took on Grand View's (Iowa) Ben Lee and lost by fall at the 2:53 mark. DeSilva earned a second-place finish on the day.
Douglas Peppers gathered a sixth-place finish in the 174-lb open division. Peppers opened the championship round with a 7-2 decision over Lander's (S.C.) Jack Bond to advance to the second round. He followed up with a pin (2:21) over Reinhardt's Tyler Ingram to continue through the championship bracket.
In the quarterfinals, Peppers continued with a 2-1 decision over Southeastern's (Fla.) Stephen Kelle. Peppers eventually fell in the semifinal bout against Grand View's Casey Randles in a 9-2 loss. With the loss, Peppers moved to the consolation semifinals where he dropped a major decision (10-2) against Grand View's Justin McCunn. Unfortunately, in the fifth-place match, Peppers lost due to injury default to Kelle.
The final placer on the day was Chandler Diles in the 165-lb Freshman/Sophomore division. Diles opened with a pin (2:49) over Nicholas Marando of UNC Pembroke to advance in the championship bracket. In round two, Diles followed up with another fall (4:28) over West Virginia Tech's Logan Allen.
In the quarterfinals, Diles advanced to the semifinal bout via a forfeit over Thomas More's (Ky.) Logan Sowder. Diles eventually fell in the semifinals via fall (2:41) against Lander's Gage Bernall. In the consolation semis, Diles lost by fall (5:38) to Cumberlands' (Ky.) Dylan Preston, picking up the sixth-place finish.
Courtesy of BPC Athletics.
