(MARSHALL, Mo., January 23)- The McKendree University wrestling team had eight individuals finish in the top eight to lead the team to an eighth place finish at the Missouri Valley Invitational on Saturday.

The Bearcats will return to action on Saturday, January 28th in Conway, Ark., at the Central baptist Mustang Open. Matches are set to begin at 9 a.m.

Redshirt junior Kyle Reid (Belleville, Ill./Belleville East) and redshirt freshman Ross Janney (Daleville, Ind./Yorktown) were McKendree's top placers with runner-up finsihes at 197 pounds and heavyweight, respectively. Reid lost a 6-1 decision to Matt Baker of Maryville University in the championship match and finshed with a record of 2-1 overall.

Janney was pinned by Leviticus Robinson of Midland University in 6:47 in the championship match at heavyweight. Janney ended the tournament with a record of 3-1 overall.

Redshirt freshman Luis Alba (Kissimmee, Fla./Cypress Creek) was defeated by Dan Capp of Hannibal-LaGrange University in a 2-1 decision in the third place match at 184 pounds to finish in fourth place. Alba finished with an overall record of 3-2.

Sophomore Josh Ballard (Troy, Ill./Triad) and senior Matt Beasley (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) came away with fifth place finishes at the Invitational. Ballard defeated Joey Moorhouse of Maryville University by decision, 7-4, in the fifth place match at 157 pounds and finsihed with a 3-2 record.

Beasley defeated Kafuba Donzon of Indiana Tech in a 7-5 decision in the fifth place match at 165 pounds and finished with a 2-2 record.

Senior Mandela Johnson (Westmont, Ill./Downers Grove North) was pinned by Cody Swim of Grand View University in the fifth place match at 174 pounds to finish in sixth place. Johnson finished with a 2-3 record overall.

Junior Tyler Orr (Mattoon, Ill./Mattoon) pinned Matt Kimmel of Oklahoma City University in the seventh place match at 125 pounds to finish in seventh place. Orr finished with a record of 3-2 overall.

Redshirt sophomore Devin Patterson (Mattoon, Ill./Mattoon) lost a decision, 6-3, to Chris Sanders of Lindenwood University at 149 pounds to finish in eighth place. Patterson ended the day with a record of 1-3.