COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Ekow Eshun and Anthony Mancini both advanced to the championship semifinal round of their respective brackets to pace the Franklin & Marshall wrestling team on Saturday at the Fall Brawl, hosted by Ursinus.
Eshun rattled off a pair of wins at 174, including a 7-2 decision in his opening match, followed by a pin just 51 seconds into his quarterfinal bout to advance into the semifinal round. American's Jeric Kasunic pinned Eshun to send him into the consolation bracket, where he bowed out in the semifinals.
Taking part in his first collegiate tournament, Mancini was impressive at 184 with a pair of decisions to reach the semifinals of the championship bracket. After falling by a major decision, his day came to an end in the consolations with a narrow 11-8 decision.
Edgar Garcia also got his Diplomat career off to a strong start with three wins at the tournament. The 125-pounder took down Hunter's Kenny Albert with an 8-6 decision in his opening bout and captured a pair decisions in the consolation bracket, before falling in the quarterfinals. Sam Butler competed at 133, picking up his first collegiate win with a 6-4 decision in the championship bracket.
Brandon Giovanetti paced a trio of F&M grapplers at 149, racking up two wins in the championship bracket, including a 12-2 major in his opening bout. Sharron Townsend fell in his opening contest but responded with five consecutive victories in the consolations (two decisions, two falls and one tech. fall) before seeing his run come to an end in the semifinals.
After being pinned in his opening bout at 157, Jacob Conners picked himself up and tallied four straight wins in the consolation bracket off of two decisions, one major and one tech. fall. Antonio Pelusi got his freshman campaign off on the right foot, earning a 5-2 decision in the quarterfinals of the 197 championship bracket, before notching a pair of decisions in the consolations.
Charles Kerkesner and Isaiah Cromwell each earned a victory in the 285 championship bracket for F&M before the duo both fell in the consolation quarterfinals.
The Diplomats' opening weekend continues tomorrow when F&M sends part of its squad to compete at the Binghamton Open.
