Sports briefs
College wrestling
Waynesburg University traveled to Baldwin Wallace on Saturday to compete in the John Summa Memorial Invitational. Senior heavyweight Jake Evans earned his fourth individual title of the season to lead the Yellow Jackets to a fourth-place team finish.
It was a big day for Evans who picked up his 175th win during a 5-0 day that included three pins, two in the first period, a technical fall and a forfeit in the title bout. There was only one downside of the championship run. Evans, the No. 2 seed and defending NCAA Division III national champion, was on the other side of the bracket from Wheeling Jesuit’s Terrance Fanning, the reigning NCAA Division II champ. The two met last year at the Washington & Jefferson Invitational, with Fanning winning a 10-8 decision.
Unfortunately, Fanning defaulted out of the tournament after reaching the semifinals, denying the crowd a rare matchup of defending national champions. Evans also didn’t get an opponent to wrestle in the finals, as Wabash’s Wade Ripple, whom Evans beat by major decision at Manchester’s Spartan Mat Classic, forfeited.
Waynesburg had three other semifinalists, including two at 174 pounds. Redshirt sophomore Anthony Welsh and sophomore Dillion Charlton each advanced past the quarterfinal round by going a combined 4-0 with a decision, two technical falls and a pin. Neither wrestler, however, made the championship bout and the two met in the third-place match, where they chose to share the bronze.
Junior Zach Mackall rolled into the semis at 157 on the strength of two pins and a technical fall. Mackall dropped into consolations and took fourth place after a loss by decision.
College track
Washington & Jefferson had several strong performances at the Bob Shannon Invitational, hosted by Denison University.
The W&J men placed fifth out of 13 in the team standings with 54 points.
Senior Jarrod Webb set the school record in the weight throw, using a toss of 14.43 meters to finish in fifth place out of 28 competitors. Webb added a season-best performance in the shot put as his toss of 14.14 meters allowed him to finish fourth out of 31 competitors.
The Presidents’ team of Jack Ryan, Logan Crise, Jonathan Youse and Andrew Wolf won the 4×200 relay in at 1:35.22. The time ranks as the fourth best all-time in the event.
Freshman Damon Gall, a Canon-McMillan graduate, crossed the finish line first in the 5,000 meters with a time of 16:09.95. The time ranks as the third in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference this season and ninth all-time in W&J history.
In the NBA
Kyrie Irving had 30 points and 11 assists, Marcus Morris scored 19 points, and the Boston Celtics snapped the Oklahoma City Thunder’s league-best seven-game win streak with a 134-129 victory Sunday.
Marcus Smart added 18 points and seven assists, Al Horford scored 17 points and Daniel Theis had 14 off the Celtics bench.
Paul George scored 37 points and Russell Westbrook notched his 19th triple-double of the season with 22 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds for the Thunder.
Steven Adams and Dennis Schroeder each had 16 points for Oklahoma City, and Jerami Grant scored 15.
- Kawhi Leonard scored 18 points, Serge Ibaka had 16 points and 12 rebounds and the Toronto Raptors beat the Los Angeles Clippers 121-103 for their 10th victory in their last 11 home games.
- Mike Conley scored 25 points, Marc Gasol had 24 and the Memphis Grizzlies snapped a nine-game road losing streak with a 96-84 victory over the New York Knicks.