The Carthage College Firebirds began their 2026‑27 wrestling season on Saturday at the University of Wisconsin‑Stevens Point’s annual Pointer Open. The tournament, held in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, featured a strong field from regional colleges and gave Carthage’s wrestlers a first look at competition for the new season.
Top Performer: Benny Schlosser
Senior Benny Schlosser led the Firebirds with a fourth‑place finish at 174 pounds. After a first‑round bye, Schlosser defeated Jake Hendri 13‑5 by major decision. In the quarterfinals he pinned Nolan Skebba of Wisconsin‑Parkside at 2:14 to advance to the semifinals, where he fell by fall to Caden Young of Wisconsin‑Stevens Point. In the consolation bracket Schlosser beat Ben Vazquez of Wisconsin‑Whitewater 6‑4, then lost the third‑place match to Skebba by a 24‑9 technical fall, securing fourth overall.
Other Notable Results
At 165 pounds, Marcus Macias opened with a 14‑6 major decision over Nicholas Asllani of Elmhurst, then dropped a 14‑3 major decision to Mitchell Betz of Manchester in the quarterfinals. Macias rebounded with a pin of Merari Mapes of Wisconsin‑Parkside in the consolation bracket before a 15‑0 technical fall loss to Liam Fox of Wisconsin‑Parkside left him in eighth place.
Elvis Muja competed at 197 pounds, entering with a bye before a 18‑0 technical fall loss to Sam Schwabe of Wisconsin‑Parkside. After a second bye, Muja fell by fall to Judah Hammen, also finishing eighth.
Other Firebirds placed in the top eight: Dontre McClose (125 lb) fell twice by technical fall, first to Hunter Mars of Concordia Moorhead and then to Keaton Wittrock of Wisconsin‑Stevens Point. Evan Glowinski (133 lb) entered with a bye, lost to Nasir Christion of Manchester by an 18‑3 technical fall, and was later pinned by Nathan Craft of Aurora. Kayden Serrano (141 lb) lost his opening match by fall to Austin Coleman of North Central and then dropped an 8‑5 decision to Nick Jenkins of Wisconsin‑Oshkosh in the consolation round.
At 157 lb, Joey Barnett entered with a bye but was pinned by Caiden Ronning of Wisconsin‑Oshkosh in the second round. Elijah Zepeda fell by fall to Conner Smith in his opening match, then defeated Barnett by fall in the consolation bracket before losing to Carson Smith by a 17‑2 technical fall.
Chris Gielow wrestled at heavyweight (285 lb), losing his opener to Elijah Osit of Aurora by a 20‑5 technical fall and then falling by fall to Miles Milovich of Elmhurst.
Looking Ahead
The Firebirds return to Carthage College for a home dual meet on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m., when they will host North Central College. Full team rosters and match details are available on the Carthage athletics website.
Coach name not provided in source praised the effort of the squad, noting that the early‑season tournament gave valuable experience and highlighted areas for growth as the team prepares for conference competition later in the year.
Original reporting: Kenosha.com — read the source article.
