STORM LAKE, Iowa (Dec. 3, 2022) - The Buena Vista wrestling team hosted its annual BVU Open on Saturday inside of the Lamberti Recreation Center with the Beavers picking up three third-place finishes and one eighth place.

Brandon Foster (125), Axel Hernandez (141) and Garret Bruce (174) each bounced back from narrow losses in the semifinals to claim third while Michael De La Cruz took home eighth.

Foster began his day in comeback fashion with a takedown on the edge of the mat in the final 10 seconds over Iowa Wesleyan's Tucker Bahm to win 4-3. He then battled throughout his quarterfinal match-up to pick up a thrilling 5-3 decision before having his quest for a championship come up just short with a 3-0 loss to Simpson's Dylan McChesney.  He capped his day in strong fashion by cruising to a 6-1 decision over Briar Cliff's Tyler Halloran to improve to 9-4 on the year.

Hernandez began his day with a 6-0 triumph in the quarterfinals following a first round bye. He then came up just short in his semifinal outing with a 4-3 decision before coming back on the consolation side with back-to-back first period pins to improve to 10-3 overall. His two pins give him four on the year.

Bruce knocked off Briar Cliff's Brandon Harris 8-1 in his first match of the day before moving into the semifinals following a second period fall.  He tried to rally late in his semifinal match-up with Minnesota State-Mankato's Michael Smith but came up just short, 8-5. He then received third-place by way of a medical forfeit. Bruce is now 6-5 on the year.

De La Cruz received a first-round bye and then won by injury default in his second match following a takedown midway through the second period. After falling by a 12-5 decision in his quarterfinal round, he also came up short in his next two consolation bouts to finish seventh.

Tyler Japp (125) and Jesus Ceja (197) each won matches on the day for BVU but did not place.

Up next for the Beavers will be the return to American Rivers Conference action as they host Coe College on December 8 at 7 p.m. inside of Siebens Fieldhouse.