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Wheaton, Ill. – University of Wisconsin-Parkside defended its title at the Pete Willson-Wheaton Invitational this weekend, winning the prestigious tournament for the second consecutive year. The Rangers put seven wrestlers in championship matches to tally 175.5 points. The Rangers finished atop of a 30-team field, that hosted 255 wrestlers.

Heidelberg University scored 108.5 points in second place, UW-LaCrosse took third with 92 points, North Central finished fourth with 89 points and Elmhurst College scored 86.5 points in fifth place. University of Indianapolis registered 79.5 points in sixth place, UW-Platteville finished seventh with 75 points, Trine scored 69 points in eighth place, UW-Whitewater finished ninth with 69 points and Ohio Northern scored 58.5 points in 10th place.

Elmhurst College's Mark Corsello, the champion in the heavyweight class, was the recipient of the George Olson Outstanding Wrestler Award. Corsello, the number-two seed, faced top-seeded Dan Laurent of UW-LaCrosse in the championship match. Laurent led Corsello 3-2 in the final minute of the match, with an advantage in riding time. Laurent was called for stalling twice in the in the final minute, to give Corsello a 4-3 lead; however, Laurent was set to receive a point for riding time. Both wrestlers went out of bounds, setting up a re-start with 3.6-seconds left and Laurent in top position. Following the re-start Corsello escaped from Laurent just before time expired to give the Bluejays' standout a 5-3 lead. Laurent earned one point for riding time advantage; however, it was Corsello that walked away with the dramatic victory.

Isaac Dukes, the runner-up in the 141-pound weight class, was the recipient of the Pete George Sportsmanship Award that is voted on by the tournament's referees to the participant who best exemplifies sportsmanship throughout the tournament.

Junior Justin Marble was the top performer for the host Wheaton Thunder wrestling team. Marble, the fifth-seeded wrestler in the 184-pound weight class, finished third in the tournament. His third-place effort is the highest finish by a Wheaton wrestler at this tournament since 2003 when All-American Dave Hirt won the title at 184 pounds and fellow All-American Sean Collins finished second in the 149-pound weight class.

Marble opened Saturday's action by defeating Chad Kurowski of Truman State, 18-3 in a technical fall in the consolation round. In his next match, Marble defeated Brendan Faust of UW-La Crosse in a 7-5 decision and he followed that up with a 5-3 victory over third-seeded Ben Adams of John Carroll to advance to the third-place match.

Marble faced fourth-seeded Nate Kraus of Trine, who had defeated Marble in the quarterfinals of the tournament on Friday. In Saturday's match, Marble jumped out to a 3-0 lead and led 3-2 after two periods. Kraus rallied in the third period to take a 5-3 lead. With 35-seconds remaining in the match Marble recorded a reversal to tie the contest at 5-5 and a few seconds later he recorded a near fall to take an 8-5 lead with less than 25-seconds remaining in the match. Once the frenzied third period had concluded Marble emerged with a 10-6 decision.

Marble noted of the end of the match, “So much happened at the end of the match that I actually lost track of the score. I reversed him and went straight to his back and that gave me the lead. Once I got the lead, I was able to hang on.” The junior noted of posting the highest finish by a Wheaton wrestler at its own tournament in seven years, “I am glad that I could be able to have a good effort here. I see a bright future for Wheaton wrestling. It has been hard the past few years, because we have changed coaches three times. But I think this program has a bright future ahead of it.”

In Friday's action, Marble picked up a pair of victories in his first two matches of the tournament. He opened the tournament by winning a 10-7 decision against Faust of UW-La Crosse. In the second round, Marble won a 6-4 decision against Paul Connor of Elizabethtown College. In the quarterfinals, Krause defeated Marble in a 14-8 decision. However it was Marble who got the final victory in the two meetings between the two grapplers.