COLUMBIA, Missouri — Three Little Rock wrestlers earned top 5 status at Sunday's Tiger Style Invitational, hosted by the University of Missouri, with two of those staking claim to third-place finishes for the Trojans.
Jaivon Jones and
Kaden Darwin each bounced back from opening round losses to run the table the rest of the way and finish third in their respective weight classes.
Michael Gasper earned a fifth-place standing.
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COMPLETE RESULTS
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Head coach
Neil Erisman was pleased with the grit shown by the three, but said the team still has a long way to go to reach their goal, as the schedule only gets tougher from here. Little Rock finished the event with 30 points to rank fifth out of the five teams in action.
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"The three that placed kept finding ways, and that was encouraging, but overall, we have a lot of work to do. I'm confident we'll bounce back," Erisman said. "It was a tough day for most of our team, and an opportunity for our younger guys to get a chance to compete against the best. I felt like they let a lot of opportunities slip away."
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Jones dropped a close decision (9-7) in his opening bout within the 157-pound bracket, but responded with a 9-1 majority decision win. After advancing past the next round due to a medical forfeit by his scheduled opponent, he pinned Isaac Ruble of Purdue in the third-place match.
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"Today I wrestled to the best of my abilities, came back from a tough loss to finish third on the backside," Jones said. "My goal for the weekend was to compete and face a ranked wrestler. Now that I've done that, I get to learn from it and understand what it takes to get to a higher level and grow."
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Darwin suffered a tech fall defeat in his opening bout, but bounced back to take the last two matches, including a 4-3 decision over Gasper, who would earn a 4-1 decision in the fifth-place bout.
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Next up for the Trojans is the inaugural Paycom National Duals on Nov. 15-16 in Tulsa, Okla.Â
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