ATHERTON, Calif. – The Indiana Tech men's wrestling team opened their 2023-24 season with a trip across the country to take on Menlo College in a dual match on Friday before competing in the Menlo College Open and Patriot Open on Saturday.
 
On Friday, the Warriors opened their season with a 22-13 loss at the hands of Menlo. Highlighting the event for the Warriors and scoring points were Allen Calderon (125), who won via a major decision to earn 4 points, Trevor Stuyvenberg (184), who won with an 11-0 major decision to secure 4 points, and Nathan Critchfield, winning via tech fall to pick up 5 points.
 
The Warriors were well represented at the Menlo Open on Saturday, as 6 Warriors finished in the top 5 over their respective weight classes. Allen Calderon (125) finished 3^rd after winning the quarterfinal via a 7-1 decision, then fell in the semifinal and won the third-place match with a 14-6 major decision. Chase Pluhar (149) dropped the open match before rattling off 4 straight wins and eventually winning the 5th-place match.  Jonathan Kervin (165) began the Open with a win via fall in 1:23, then dropped his second and went on to win via a 7-3 decision in the 5^th place match. Critchfield (197) and Stuyvenberg (184) finished 4^th in their weight classes, each going 4-2 in their 6 matches. Braydon Erb (285) highlighted the Open for the Warriors as he claimed the open title for his weight class. Erb won with 13-6 and 10-3 decisions in his opening two matches and closed out the 1^st-place match with a 10-2 major decision.
 
The Warriors that didn't make the trip out west made a trip to Kentucky to compete in the Patriot Open hosted by the University of the Cumberlands (Ky.). The Open was highlighted by four Warriors who finished in the top 5 of their weight class. Bode Wilson (165) finished 5^th place, Elijah Chacon (157) finished 5^th place, Mikey Durham (184) finished 4^th place, and Ian Clifford (285) finished 5^th place.
 
Tech is back in action on November 11^th, as they travel to Angola, Indiana, to compete in the Trine Open, hosted by Trine University.