BRISTOL, Tenn.--Eight Phoenix placed at the King Open on Sunday. Bobby Estrada and
Ethan Gomez each picked up fourth place finishes as Truth Vessey,
Jacob Barlow, and
Eli Clemmons took fifth. Ellis Otting claimed sixth place,
Jared Dinh took seventh, and
Anthony Pyron had an eighth place finish.
Bobby Estrada (133 lbs, 4th Place): Bobby Estrada had a solid performance at 133 pounds, earning 15 team points. He started his tournament with a first-round pin over Robert Tovornik from Apprentice School in 1:26. He continued his momentum with a 12-3 major decision over Damajae Hayden of Newberry and narrowly defeated Canaan Spears of TNWA, 9-8, in the quarterfinals. Estrada faced tough opponents in the semifinals, where he was pinned by Josh Carman of West Liberty in 57 seconds, and in the 3rd place match, where he fell to Caiden Pelc of Newberry in 1:17.
Ethan Gomez (165 lbs, 4th Place): Ethan Gomez secured a 4th place finish at 165 pounds, scoring 14.5 team points. He kicked off the tournament with a 19-3 tech fall over Darious Williams of King and a 14-2 major decision against Lincoln Krull of Cumberlands (Ky.). Gomez kept the momentum going with a 15-9 decision over William Lowery from UNC Pembroke in the quarterfinals. He fell to Abe Hafez of Midway University in the semifinals, 10-3, and dropped a close 4-3 decision to Weston Melvin of Cumberlands (Ky.) in the 3rd place match.
Truth Vesey (125 lbs, 5th Place): Truth Vesey had an impressive run in the 125-pound bracket, scoring 17.5 team points. He opened with a dominant 15-0 tech fall over Corey Dye of Andrew College and followed it up with a lightning-fast pin of Zach Lewis from Midway University in just 39 seconds. Although he suffered a setback in the quarterfinals, losing by fall to Logan Davis of West Liberty, Vesey battled back in the consolation rounds. He secured an 11-6 decision over Dylan Drinkard of Belmont Abbey and pinned Caiden Harbert of West Liberty in 2:07. Vesey finished strong, winning the 5th place match by forfeit over Adrian Samano (unattached).
Jacob Barlow (157 lbs, 5th Place): Jacob Barlow put together a strong run at 157 pounds, tallying 15 team points. Despite an opening-round major decision loss to Joe Bertrand of King, 14-5, Barlow rebounded in the consolation bracket. After a first-round bye, he earned a 7-1 decision over Alex Ropski from Belmont Abbey and a dominant 20-3 tech fall victory against Lucas Zombotti of West Liberty. Barlow continued with a pin over Jayden Jett of West Liberty in 6:43 and advanced to the 5th place match via medical forfeit over Cade Johnson of Kentucky Wesleyan. He finished 5th after a no contest with teammate Ellis Otting.
Eli Clemmons (165 lbs, 5th Place): Eli Clemmons posted a strong showing at 165 pounds, earning 16 team points and placing 5th. He opened with two dominant tech falls, winning 19-3 over Seth Thomas of Salem and 15-0 against Jason Mckee of Apprentice School. Clemmons suffered a narrow 2-1 loss in a tie breaker to Weston Melvin of Cumberlands (Ky.) in the quarterfinals but bounced back to defeat Aspen Talbot of UNC Pembroke, 9-3. He then pinned Levi Abbott from West Liberty in 5:33 and capped off his run with a 12-2 major decision victory over Nick Humphrys from Newberry in the 5th place match.
Ellis Otting (157 lbs, 6th Place): Ellis Otting finished 6th in the 157-pound division, contributing 13 team points. After a narrow 9-7 loss to Jayden Jett of West Liberty in the opening round, Otting won four consecutive matches in the consolation bracket. He pinned Dasaun Taylor of Newberry in 2:37, secured a 23-7 tech fall over Seth Holt of Salem, and defeated Michael Lowry of UNC Pembroke, 19-15. Otting continued his strong showing with a 10-1 major decision over Kairyn Hall from Bluefield State and a 7-3 win over Braxton Miller of West Liberty. He concluded his tournament in 6th place after a no contest with teammate Jacob Barlow.
Jared Dinh (149 lbs, 7th Place): Jared Dinh scored 13 team points en route to a 7th place finish at 149 pounds. Despite losing his opening match to Skyler Caban of Belmont Abbey, 4-1, Dinh bounced back in the consolation bracket. He recorded a tech fall victory over Caden Moore of Kentucky Wesleyan and won by medical forfeit over Quinton Gerstenacker of Darkhorse Wrestling Club. Dinh added another tech fall win, 17-2, against Shawn Young of West Liberty, and pinned Nathan Marquez from Cumberlands (Ky.) in just 48 seconds. He lost a close 4-1 sudden victory match in the consolation semifinals but secured 7th place by no contest over Colton Sullivan of Montevallo.
Anthony Pyron (174 lbs, 8th Place): Anthony Pyron scored 9 team points and finished 8th at 174 pounds. He started strong with a 16-1 tech fall win over Sebastian Gabarrete from Emory & Henry University and an 11-8 sudden victory against Vincent Galang of King. Pyron then lost a close 4-2 decision to Gabe Blissenbach of West Liberty in the quarterfinals but advanced in the consolation bracket with an injury default win over Cole Sykes of Montevallo. Pyron lost his consolation semifinal match, 9-3, to Breagan Pearson of West Liberty and finished 8th after a default match with Jack Willen of Cumberlands (Ky.).
Cumberland will be back in action this upcoming Saturday in Marietta, Georgia as the Phoenix take on the Life Open.
