Final Brackets
LANCASTER, Pa. – Four Franklin & Marshall wrestlers placed in the top-six to lead at the Diplomats at their home tournament, the 2020 David H. Lehman F&M Open on Saturday in Lancaster.
The four top-six finishers were the most ever by the Diplomats in the eight-year history of the event. Wil Gil, Noah Chan, and Emmett LiCastri all delivered third-place showings, while Mike Waszen secured sixth.
Top Performances
Gil (141 pounds) rattled off three straight wins to open his Open run, including a dominant 15-2 major over Princeton's Marshall Keller in his first-round match. The Diplomat 141-pounder followed with a decision and a quick opening-minute pin to reach the semifinals.
After falling down to the wrestle backs with a hard-fought 11-9 setback, Gil was awarded third place off a medical forfeit.
Chan got off to a torrid start at 157 pounds with two consecutive pins, before his 8-3 decision over Clarion's Trevor Elfvin propelled him to the semifinals. A 6-1 loss to eventual champion Hunter Ladnier of Harvard awarded Chan the third-place finish in the bracket.
LiCastri (165 pounds) convincingly won his first two matches before suffering a pin in the semifinals. The F&M captain closed the Open on a strong note, claiming a 9-0 major over Clarion's Jack Peura to take third.
Mike Waszen (197 pounds) lost his opening-round match but came back with five straight wins that included two pins in the wrestle backs. His effort catapulted him to a sixth-place showing.
Cenzo Pelusi pinned Long Islands' Tim Nagosky to begin action at 285 pounds and followed with an 8-6 decision to advance to the quarterfinals. He earned a 3-1 decision in the wrestle backs to reach the seventh-eighth place match, which was not contested.
Additional Highlights
125 Pounds
Jose Diaz went 2-2 on the day and opened his competition with a strong 7-0 decision in the championship bracket. He went on to add a 7-3 win in the wrestle backs before seeing his day draw to a close one match shy of placing with a tough 6-4 loss in SV-1.
133 Pounds
Mike Simonetti also won his first match of the Open, a 5-2 decision against Campbell's Landon Shuford at 133 pounds.
149 Pounds
Cristiaan Dailey reached the quarterfinals of the 149-pound championship bracket after registering three wins, including an early second-period pin that began his competition on the day. However, he fell by narrow decisions in his next two contests.
157 Pounds
Cole Aaron bounced back from an opening-round loss with four consecutive consolation wins that included an opening-period pin to eventually finish at 4-2 on the day.
174 Pounds
John Crawford won his first two matches by decision to reach the quarterfinals, finally wrapping up his competition with a 2-2 mark.
Crew Fullerton picked up a championship-round pin and finished one match short of placing after claiming a narrow 4-2 SV-1 win in the wrestle backs.
184 Pounds
Jimmy Stillerman won a consolation round match with an early first-period pin of Brown's Brandon Kui.
285 Pounds
Steven Mercadante recorded a second-period pin to kick start his Open but dropped his next two matches.
Up Next
The Diplomats return to the mats next Saturday to compete at the Shorty Hitchcock Open, hosted by Millersville.
