LANCASTER, Pa. - Franklin & Marshall registered five pins to roll past Sacred Heart, 36-15, before falling to Rider, 35-6, in tri-meet wrestling action on Saturday at the Mayser Center. The Diplomats (1-12) pick up their first win of the season with the triumph over Sacred Heart (0-15). Rider's victory moved the Broncs to 8-7 on the year.
The Diplomats jumped out of the gates quickly against Sacred Heart and never looked back as each of their first three bouts resulted in wins via pin. F&M went on to notch two additional pins and two wins by decision in the rout.
At 125 pounds, David Hershberger delivered his third pin of the year over Joe Harris in 4:47 to put F&M on top, 6-0. After falling behind early on, Hershberger climbed even with Harris with an escape late in period one and another with 53 seconds remaining in period two. The freshman then seized the lead with a takedown with 19 ticks left in the second frame, before pinning Harris seconds later.
Robert Ruiz also tallied his third pin of the season at 133 in just 1:01 over Andrew Polidore. Deadlocked in a scoreless tie, Polidore attempted to takedown Ruiz just under a minute into the bout, but Ruiz swung the advantage in his favor by tallying an impressive pin with his back to Polidore. Both wrestlers found themselves sprawled out on the mat and Ruiz, rather than spinning out to face Polidore, drove him into the mat from his backside to push the Diplomats' lead to 12-0.
Richard Durso kept the momentum rolling for F&M with his first-ever pin at 141 against Robert O'Neill. Durso led from the get-go as he registered two takedowns in the first period and eventually stretched his advantage to 13-2 early on in period three, before pinning O'Neill at the 5:38 point, pushing the F&M edge to 18-0.
The next four bouts saw the Diplomats forfeit two weights (149, 165), and Eric Norgard (157) and Matt Fullowan (174) deliver tight victories by decision. Norgard defeated Joseph Evangelista, 7-4, while Fullowan outlasted Jonathan Rizzitello, 2-1, in a bout that stretched to two overtimes.
F&M closed out the match with pins from Colin Ely and Isaiah Cromwell at 197 and 285, respectively. Ely notched a takedown in both periods one and two to take a 4-0 advantage over Sam Morison heading into the final period. The senior then pushed his edge to 7-0 with another takedown and penalty point, before securing his team-leading sixth win via fall with just under a minute remaining. Wrestling in a dual meet for just the second time this year and in the heavyweight spot for the first time, Cromwell made it count as he pinned Renaldo Cuko in 2:01 to give the Diplomats their final 36-15 margin of victory.
Against Rider, Durso and Fullowan each pulled out their second individual wins of the day for the Diplomats in the loss. Durso defeated Jeremy Minich by decision, 6-3, while Fullowan downed Brandon Lintner, 2-0. Durso has now won nine straight matches overall, seven straight duals and boasts a team-best 25 wins, while Fullowan moved to 14-13 on the year with his two victories.
F&M returns to action on Wednesday at Gettysburg at 7:00 pm.
Franklin & Marshall (F&M) 36.0 Sacred Heart (SAHE) 15.0
125: David III Hershberger, F&M, pinned Joe Harris, SAHE, 4:47. (6-0)
133: Robert Ruiz, F&M, pinned Andrew Polidore, SAHE, 1:01. (12-0)
141: Richard Durso, F&M, pinned Robert O'Neill, SAHE, 5:38. (18-0)
149: Justin Belanger, SAHE, forf. (18-6)
157: Eric Norgard, F&M, dec. Joseph Evangelista, SAHE, 7-4. (21-6)
165: Sam Sheppard, SAHE, forf. (21-12)
174: Matt Fullowan, F&M, dec. OT Jonathon Rizzitello, SAHE, 2-1. (24-12)
184: Zachary Moran, SAHE, dec. Matt Latessa, F&M, 10-4. (24-15)
197: Colin Ely, F&M, pinned Sam Morison, SAHE, 6:21. (30-15)
285: Isaiah Cromwell, F&M, pinned Renaldo Cuko, SAHE, 2:01. (36-15)
Rider (RIDE) 35.0 Franklin & Marshall (F&M) 6.0
125: Chuck Zeisloft, RIDE, dec. David III Hershberger, F&M, 8-2. (3-0)
133: Jimmy Morris, RIDE, dec. Robert Ruiz, F&M, 11-4. (6-0)
141: Richard Durso, F&M, dec. Jeremy Minich, RIDE, 6-3. (6-3)
149: Zac Cibula, RIDE, forf. (12-3)
157: Ramon Santiago, RIDE, maj. dec. Eric Norgard, F&M, 12-0. (16-3)
165: James Brundage, RIDE, forf. (22-3)
174: Matt Fullowan, F&M, dec. Brandon Lintner, RIDE, 2-0. (22-6)
184: Clint Morrison, RIDE, maj. dec. Matt Latessa, F&M, 10-2. (26-6)
197: Donald Mcneil, RIDE, dec. Colin Ely, F&M, 4-3. (29-6)
285: Evan Craig, RIDE, forf. (35-6)
