Northern Michigan

11 MEDALS: OTS Greco Athletes Run Through Campbell Cup for Team Title

By 5PM Staff

Posted on September 30, 2018

Mason Hartshorn, 2018 Junior Greco World Duals

Mason Hartshorn -- Photo: John Sachs

As soon as Northern Michigan University/Olympic Training Site head coach Rob Hermann released his roster for the 2018 Eduardo Campbell Cup last month, one thing became instantly clear: there were going to a be a LOT of medals clanging around on the flight home once that tournament was over with.

It was not a supposition originating from a hyperbolic thought process.

But rather, a slight underestimation.

Greco-Roman athletes representing the OTS came away with 11 overall medals, five champs, and the team title at yesterday’s Campbell Cup, hosted in Santiago de Veraguas, Panama. The blitzing performance signifies another extremely strong start to the season for NMU, and seven of the program’s athletes are still on deck to compete in the remaining pair of World Championships over the next six weeks.

2016 National runner-up Khymba Johnson (97 kg, NYAC/OTS) bulldozed his way to gold for the second straight year, earning six victories in his bracket. Colin Schubert (77 kg, NYAC/OTS), another one of NMU’s leaders in the room, also prevailed in dominant fashion, securing himself half a dozen wins. This was the story up and down the lineup. George Hooker (87 kg, NMU/OTS) got himself his first international gold, as well, while fellow young stars Mason Hartshorn (60 kg, NMU/OTS) and Riley Briggs (67 kg, NMU/OTS) added to their still-growing resumes by likewise storming to first place.

Zach Merrill (97 kg), who made the Senior World Team for Puerto Rico in both international styles (but has since been victimized by that national federation), made his debut as an OTS athlete a successful one, garnering silver. Right behind him at 97 kilos was Roy Nash (NMU/OTS), the former Junior World Team member who returned to Greco last season following a multi-year hiatus. Jordan Auen (67 kg, NMU/OTS) collected his third international since 2016 medal by taking second.

“We love this tournament,”NMU/OTS head coach Rob Hermann remarked following the Campbell Cup. “The people are great and it’s a good warm up for the season. We have good competition and get a lot of matches from the Panamanians and other Central American countries that are represented. The Eduardo Campbell Cup represents the first steps towards a successful season for the wrestlers in the NMU program.”

NOTES:

As of press time, we do not have box scores. If/when those become available we will update below.
NMU/OTS athletes put up a combined record of 55-12 (counting US vs. US matches)
Originally, Sammy Jones (63 kg, NYAC/OTS) and David Prado (77 kg, NMU/OTS) were scheduled to compete in Panama, but neither wound up doing so.