Triton College wrestler
Ryan Boersma dominated the field to take home the individual title in the 285lb weight class Dec. 14 at the 33
rd Art Kraft Memorial Tournament in River Grove.
The Mt. Carmel High School graduate and Division I transfer from the University of Missouri was not seriously challenged, going 4-0 on the day, winning his first three bouts all by pins.
In the championship, Boersma ranked No. 3 in the latest NJCAA poll at 285 scored early and often to defeat Cito Tuttle of Rochester Community and Technical College (MN) by technical fall (19-5). Tuttle entered the tournament ranked No. 4 in the nation and was no match for the 6-foot-7 Boersma who clinched the match with an escape to open the third period.
"It's an honor to win this tournament and wrestle in front of the home crowd," said Boersma. "I'm super-physical and really wanted to come out of the gates strong and assert myself. Once I do, I want to stay smart and not put myself in any risky situations and keep scoring points until I get the win."
Ghee Rachal finished second at 197. The returning NJCAA All-American entered the tournament ranked No. 1 in the nation. Unfortunately, Rachal lost by a 10-5 decision in a top 2 showdown against Andrew Marquez of Indian Hills Community College (IA) in the championship. Marquez, who got the nod as Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Art Kraft Memorial Tournament scored a late three-point takedown in the first period to put the pressure on Rachal. Then Marquez followed with another three-point takedown early in the second period to go up 6-1 after an escape by Rachal put him on the board.
"I can use the outcome of this match as a learning experience for me later in the season," Rachal said.
This year's Art Kraft Memorial Tournament had a post-pandemic high of 191 total entries.
The No. 10 ranked Trojans were down some key wrestlers the last three weeks due to injuries and look to take advantage of the holiday break to get back as close to full-strength as possible.
Triton returns to the mat on Jan. 4 to take part in the Augustana College Duals in Rock Island.
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