WILKES, Pa. – Noah Fox claimed the individual title at the Wilkes Open to headline seven place winners from the Division I Franklin & Marshall wrestling team on Thursday. The Diplomats scored 125.5 points, finishing second as a team in a close battle with Bloomsburg (141 pts.) throughout the afternoon.
Franklin & Marshall Place Winners
Entering the tournament as the No. 3 seed, Fox had a pair of falls before knocking off the top two seeds during his final two bouts. Following a default win in the semifinals where he was leading, Fox defeated top-seeded Jacob Burgette of Pitt.-Johnstown by a 9-6 decision to claim the title at 174 lbs.
James Conway defeated three seeded wrestlers before taking second at 184 lbs. He majored the No. 3 and No. 6 seeds from Bloomsburg and Rutgers during his first two bouts before an 8-5 decision against Lehigh's second-seeded Jack Wilt. Lehigh top seed JT Davis avenged his teammate's loss with a 10-5 decision in the finals. The Diplomats surged to the team lead after putting six individuals in the semifinals. Harrison Shapiro ended up in third, with his two victories on the day both coming via fall, including a pin in just 1:41 versus the No. 3 seed during the third-place match.
Aidan O'Shea, Nick Alvarez, and Cenzo Pelusi also reached the semifinals before finishing fourth. O'Shea picked up two more major decisions and a technical fall at 133 lbs. before dropping his matches to Lehigh's Ryan Crookham and Rutgers' Devin Britton. O'Shea's two major decisions give him six on the year which is currently tied with three other individuals for first in all of Division I wrestling. Fellow first-year Nick Alvarez secured his first career placement at a collegiate tournament with a fall versus Sacred Heart and two decisions which advanced him into the semifinals.
The No. 31 heavyweight in InterMat's latest rankings, Cenzo Pelusi made his season debut and was sharp from the start with a technical fall and decision before medically forfeiting out of the tournament after reaching the semifinals. He is still slated to wrestle in next week's Midlands Championships hosted by Northwestern. Josh Hillard continued his pinning wins at 133 lbs., with three of his four wins during the consolation rounds coming by fall. Hillard's eight pins during his rookie campaign are the second-most in Division I to date.
Brandon Sauter (133 lbs.) and Avery Clarke (149 lbs.) missed the placing rounds by just one match Sauter was one of nine Diplomats in the quarterfinals before he met the top seed. His two victories came by bonus points. Both Clarke and Jack Bruce (125 lbs.) joined their teammates in the quarterfinals. Clarke recorded a pair of decisions, while Bruce upset the No. 8 seed in the first round before eventually falling to the top seed. Sam Kotch (141 lbs.), Hunter Hockensmith (149 lbs.), and Anthony Micci (157 lbs.) also had multiple wins throughout the day, with Chris Hisey (157 lbs.) adding a pin in addition to RJ Moore's victory at 165 lbs. The Diplomats had at least one individual standing amongst the final 12 wrestlers at every weight class.
Franklin & Marshall will now have a week before competing at the prestigious Midlands Championships in Illinois. Eight Diplomats are slated to make the trip for one of the toughest regular season tournaments on the Division I schedule. The 58th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships will begin on Thursday, December 29 and continue through Friday, December 30.
Franklin & Marshall Individual Results
Jack Bruce (125 lbs.)
Round of 32: Won vs. #8 Kevin Riedinger (Bloomsburg); 6-5
Round of 16: Won vs. Kaleb Marciszewski (Ohio Northern); Forfeit
Quarterfinals: Lost vs. #1 Austin Fashouer (Wilkes); F: 4:21
Consolation of 8 #2: Lost vs. Kade Davidheiser (Unattached); 7-5
#3 Aidan O'Shea (133 lbs.) – Fourth Place
Round of 32: Won vs. Nico Messina (Rutgers); 20-8
Round of 16: Won vs. Nick Germano (King's); 12-0
Quarterfinals: Won vs. #6 Dylan Le (Ohio Northern); TF: 6:07 (16-0)
Semifinals: Lost vs. vs. #2 Ryan Crookham (Lehigh); 14-4
Third Place: Lost vs. #4 Devon Britton (Rutgers); 7-4
#5 Josh Hillard (133 lbs.) – Sixth Place
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: Lost vs. Sean Logue (Lock Haven); 13-3
Consolation of 16 #2: Won vs. Temuujin Erdenetuya (Marymount); F: 0:49
Consolation of 8 #1: Won vs. Nico Messina (Rutgers); F: 3:22
Consolation of 8 #2: Won vs. Brandon Chletsos (Rutgers); 6-4
Consolation Semifinals: Won vs. Dillon Messick (Apprentice School); F: 3:29
Fifth Place: vs. Lost vs. Patrick Snoke (Penn Tech); F: 2:59
Brandon Sauter (133 lbs.)
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: Won vs. Cole Anderson (King's); 17-5
Quarterfinals: Lost vs. #1 Ivan Garcia (Binghamton); F: 1:46
Consolation of 8 #2: Won vs. Bruno Alves (Apprentice School); F: 4:23
Consolation Semifinals: Lost vs. Patrick Snoke (Penn Tech); 4-0
Sam Kotch (141 lbs.)
Round of 32: Lost vs. Michael Cassidy (Bloomsburg); 10-3
Consolation of 16 #1: Bye
Consolation of 16 #2: Won vs. Brett Patton (Penn Tech); F: 0:36
Consolation of 8 #1: Won vs. #8 Tyler Kellison (Binghamton); MFF
Consolation of 8 #2: Lost vs. #6 Christian Gannone (Binghamton); 5-2
James Toal (141 lbs.)
Round of 32: Lost vs. Jordan Robins (Apprentice School); F: 4:15
Consolation of 16 #1: Bye
Consolation of 16 #2: Lost vs. Hunter Sloan (Unattached); 5-0
Avery Clarke (149 lbs.)
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: Won vs. Ben Grater (Wilkes); 5-2
Quarterfinals: Lost vs. William Evanitsky (Lackawana); 12-5
Consolation of 8 #2: Won vs. David Loniewski (Davidson); 4-2
Consolation Semifinals: Lost vs. #8 Cade Balistrini (Bloomsburg); F: 1:29
Hunter Hockensmith (149 lbs.)
Round of 32: Won vs. Tal-Reese Flemming (Bloomsburg); 4-1
Round of 16: Lost vs. #5 Andrew Gapas (Rutgers); 12-0
Consolation of 16 #2: Won vs. Matthew Dewitz (Ohio Northern); F: 0:25
Consolation of 8 #1: Lost vs. David Loniewski (Davidson); 6-0
#2 Nick Alvarez (157 lbs.) – Fourth Place
Round of 32: Won vs. Teagan Hendricks (Ohio Northern); 6-0
Round of 16: Won vs. Calum Price (Sacred Heart); F: 2:37
Quarterfinals: Won vs. David Norris (Apprentice School); 8-3
Semifinals: Lost vs. #6 Michael Cetta (Rutgers); 14-8
Third Place: Lost vs. Josh Bonomo (Bloomsburg); F: 0:16
Anthony Micci (157 lbs.)
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: Lost vs. #3 Christian Reid (Bloomsburg); 6-2
Consolation of 16 #2: Won vs. #4 Nikko Partsanakis (Wilkes); 9-6
Consolation of 8 #1: Won vs. Nick Semon (Penn Tech); 5-3
Consolation of 8 #2: Lost vs. Jayden Jones (Ohio Northern); 7-4
Chris Hisey (157 lbs.)
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: Lost vs. #5 Connor Trowbridge (Drexel); F: 4:40
Consolation of 16 #2: Won vs. Brooks Coleman (Marymount); F: 4:55
Consolation of 8 #1: Lost vs. Cullen Van Rooyen (Penn Tech); 10-2
RJ Moore (165 lbs.)
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: Lost vs. #5 Jeremiah Oakes (Scranton); 7-0
Consolation of 16 #2: Bye
Consolation of 8 #1: Won vs. Ethan Baker (Apprentice School); 9-3
Consolation of 8 #2: Lost vs. #2 Jordan Hardrick (Ohio Northern); 6-1
Makoa Niebel (165 lbs.)
Round of 32: Lost vs. Xavery Washington (Marymount); 9-3
Consolation of 16 #1: Bye
Consolation of 16 #2: Lost vs. Ethan Baker (Apprentice School); F: 6:07
#3 Noah Fox (174 lbs.) – First Place
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: Won vs. Devin Doty (Wilkes); F: 1:00
Quarterfinals: Won vs. Adam Myers (Ohio Northern); F: 6:47
Semifinals: Won vs. #2 Matt Benedetti (Bloomsburg); DEF: 2:46
First Place: Won vs. #1 Jacob Burgette (Pitt.-Johnstown); 9-6
James Conway (184 lbs.) – Second Place
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: Won vs. #3 Bruno Stolfi (Bloomsburg); 12-4
Quarterfinals: Won vs. #6 Stratos Kantanas (Rutgers); 8-0
Semifinals: Won vs. #2 Jack Wilt (Lehigh); 8-5
First Place: Lost vs. #1 JT Davis (Lehigh); 10-5
#5 Harrison Shapiro (197 lbs.) – Third Place
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: Bye
Quarterfinals: Won vs. #4 Noah Foltz (Lock Haven); F: 6:01
Semifinals: Lost vs. #1 Wolfgang Frable (Army); 5-1
Third Place: Won vs. #3 Ben DePrest (Ohio Northern); F: 1:41
#1 Cenzo Pelusi (285 lbs.) – Fourth Place
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: Won vs. Chris Murphy (Unattached); TF: 4:58 (18-2)
Quarterfinals: Won vs. Andrew Franklin (Muhlenberg); 6-1
Semifinals: MFF vs. #5 John O'Donnell (Rutgers)
Third Place: MFF vs. Nolan Neves (Blair Academy)
#7 Tyler O'Boyle (285 lbs.)
Round of 32: Lost vs. Nolan Neves (Blair Academy); F: 3:31
Consolation of 16 #1: Bye
Consolation of 16 #2: Lost vs. #8 Tyler McCartharn (Bloomsburg); 3-1
