Harry Figiel

Conroy Earns All-CCIW Honors with Third-Place Finish at Wrestling Championship

Becomes fourth all-conference honoree all-time

2/15/2024 7:44:00 PM

ELMHURST, Ill. – Making its return to the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Championships for the first time since 1985, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's wrestling team walked away with an All-CCIW honoree in junior Bobby Conroy (St. Louis, Mo.-St. Louis University High) in the 184-pound weight class. IWU scored 30 points for a 10th place finish out of 11 teams inside R.A. Faganel Hall at Elmhurst University Thursday, Feb. 15.

IWU's 30 points are the most scored in a conference meet for the Titans since the 1974 team posted 45.50 points. North Central won the meet with 171.5 points while Millikin's 128 points were good for second.

Conroy climbed to a 4-1 record in his first conference tournament at 184 pounds, bringing his season record to 15-7. In his opening bout, Conroy needed just over two minutes to pin Lakeland University's Nidal Farah (2:06). Advancing to the quarterfinals Conroy won in a narrow 4-1 decision over Elmhurst's Colin O'Neill. The championship bracket semifinal got the best of Conroy in a 46 second pin. The junior bounced back in the consolation semifinal with an 8-2 decision over Devin Rogers of Carthage College. The third-place match saw Conroy strive for a 9-7 decision win to finish third overall and claim the program's fourth all-conference award in program history. Conroy joins the likes of Henry Medley, Gary Johnson, and Dave Hill.

Freshman Austin Johnston (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) received a bye in the opening round of the 133-pound bracket, advancing him to the quarterfinals where he suffered an 18-7 major decision loss. Johnston went to work through the consolation bracket, picking up his first win of the day by pinning Aurora University's Tyler Evitts (4:43). Johnston followed it up with two more pins against Jake Mora of Elmhurst (4:43) and Alex Morales of Milwaukee School of Engineering (3:50) to advance to the 133-pound third-place match. Johnston faced Coby Haney of Millikin in the third-place match where he ultimately finished fourth at 133-pounds with a 11-2 major decision loss. Johnston posted a 3-2 record on the day to move his season record to 16-11. His three pins today moved his team-lead pins to 13. Johnston was named IWU's RESPECT Award recipient.

Also picking up a win at the championships was junior Froylan Racey (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) with a 14-0 major decision against Loren Semler of Carthage.

IWU heads to Cedar Rapids, Iowa for the NCAA Lower Midwest Regional Friday and Saturday, Mar. 1-2 hosted by the American Rivers Conference at Alliant Energy Powerhouse.

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