On Saturday, the Lindenwood men's wrestling team competed at the Jim Bongo Bayly Open hosted at Maryville University in St. Louis, Mo.

Overview
The Lions at the open had a strong showing having three wrestlers place in their respective weight divisions.

Notable Performances
-Freshman Jared Shafer achieved second place in the 174-pound bracket going 2-1 on the day. In Shafer's match in the quarter-final round, Shafer won by pin at the 5:00 mark against opponent Maximus Rosario from the University of Central Missouri. In the semi-final round, the Illinois native won by a major decision of 15 to 7 over Maryville University's Lance Hymer. In the championship round, Shafer faced Central Missouri's Austin Morgan, where Shafer would fall in a closely contested match losing by a decision of 11-10.

-Sophomore David Hernandez placed fourth at the open, going 2-3 on the day in the 285-pound division. In Hernandez's first match, he fell to Maryville University's Ryan Herman by pin. Hernandez would bounce back, and rattle wins in his next two matches by pin at the 4:40 mark in the second match and by a major decision of 10 to 1 in his third match. Hernandez would lose his last two matches of the day.

-Junior McKinley Kemper finished fifth in the 184-pound division going 1-4 on the day. Kemper would start off losing his first two matches of the day by a decision but would quickly bounce back in his third match, winning by a decision of 6 to 2. In this match, Kemper would score points by escape and takedown in the second period, as well as scoring points in the third period by escape and takedown to secure the victory.  The Indiana native would lose his final two matches of the day.

Up Next
The Lions will return to the mat to take on the Little Rock Trojans on Friday, January 13, in Little Rock, Arkansas.