GRANTHAM, Pa. – Noah Fox (174 lbs.) and Mike Waszen (197 lbs.) both brought home individual titles to highlight a strong day of the mats for the Franklin & Marshall wrestling team at the Messiah Open. In addition to capturing two of the 10 individual brackets, Harrison Shapiro advanced to the medal round and finished with the a fifth-place showing at 197 lbs.

Fox and Waszen were each dominant en route to their tournament titles, securing two bonus point victories each. Following a first round bye, Waszen outscored his opponents from TCNJ and Stevens by a 35-1 score during a pair of technical falls in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. Starring down an EIWA opponent in the finals, Waszen topped Penn's Josh LaBarbera by a 3-2 score to capture his first college tournament title. The victory marked the fourth time Waszen has advanced to the placing rounds of a tournament during his Franklin & Marshall career.

Fox got pins during the first round and semifinal round in a 4-0 day for the Diplomat sophomore. Both of his pins came in the first period as he flattened Messiah's Tyler Riley in just 1:18 before punching his ticket the finals with a fall in 2:56 against Steven's Blaise Wagner. Fox additionally picked up a 7-4 decision versus Penn State-Mt. Alto's Luke Lardarello in the quarterfinals before rolling to the championship behind an 8-2 victory against Joel Martsinovsky of Stevens. Fox's performance marked his second tournament placement this year as he also finished fifth at the Clarion Open to start his collegiate career.

Franklin & Marshall made up half the semifinalists at 197 lbs., with Harrison Shapiro joining Waszen in that round following a 10-3 decision vs. Sean Gillespie of Liberty. Shapiro suffered a 4-1 setback against Penn's LaBarbera (who Waszen would later defeat) and fell in the consolation semifinal. Nevertheless, Shapiro closed his day a strong note, racking up a 12-0 major decision over Maximo Ruiz of Stevens in the fifth-place match.

The Diplomats sent eight wrestlers in total to Messiah, with three more entrants at 149 lbs. and two more at 133 lbs. Jack Bruce (133 lbs.), Chris Hisey (149 lbs.), and Avery Clarke (149 lbs.) all came within a single match of the medal round. Bruce earned a 10-3 decision against Stevens, but dropped a pair of hard-fought decisions on the day. Clarke (149 lbs.) advanced to the quarterfinals on the strength of two EIWA victories against Hofstra and Columbia before his tournament came to end following defeats to Penn and Millersville.

Hisey bounced back from a tough opening draw with decision victories against Millersville and EIWA foe American prior to his backside run ending at the hands of the host Falcons. All eight Diplomats that entered the tournament won at least one match as Eli Wallace (133 lbs.) picked up his first collegiate pin against Matt Deysher (PSU-Mt. Alto), while Anthony Micci (149 lbs.) handed George Mason's Nate Higley a 6-3 defeat.

Franklin & Marshall will return to action in just under a week as the Rupp Cup is on the line when the Diplomats make the quick trip to Millersville for a 7 p.m. dual on Friday, February 11.

Complete Franklin & Marshall Results

Jack Bruce – 133 lbs.
Champ. Round 1: bye
Champ. Round 2: Lost vs. Jacob Falleni (TCNJ); 7-4}
Cons. Round 2: bye
Cons. Round 3: Won vs. Arjun Khatri (Stevens); 10-3
Cons. Round 4: Lost vs. Matthew Morris (Millersville); 6-0

Eli Wallace – 133  lbs.
Champ. Round 1: bye
Champ. Round 2: Lost vs. Andrew Fallon (American); 12-0
Cons. Round 2: Won vs. Matt Deysher (PSU-Mt. Alto); Fall (4:36)
Cons. Round 3: Lost vs. Jordan Howard (Messiah); 10-0

Chris Hisey – 149 lbs.
Champ. Round 1: Lost vs. McCoy Pace (Columbia); Fall (1:57)
Cons. Round 1: bye
Cons. Round 2: Won vs. Edward Scheck (Millersville); 6-0
Cons. Round 3: Won vs. Devon Capato (American); 3-1
Cons. Round 4: Lost vs. Ike Bryner (Messiah); Fall (0:48)

Anthony Micci – 149 lbs.
Champ. Round 1: Won vs. Ben Bancroft (Navy); Fall (3:25)
Champ. Round 2: Lost vs. Nate Higley (George Mason); 6-3
Cons. Round 2: Lost vs. Finnegan McFadden (Unattached); 6-4

Avery Clarke – 149 lbs.
Champ. Round 1: Won vs. Eric Shindel (Hofstra); 10-2
Champ. Round 2: Won vs. Jerome Scott (Columbia); 7-4
Quarterfinal: Lost vs. Kaya Sement (Penn); 10-4
Cons. Round 4: Lost vs. Josh Tuckey (Millersville); 5-2

Noah Fox – 174 lbs. (FIRST PLACE)
Champ. Round 1: Won vs. Tyler Riley (Messiah); Fall (1:18)
Quarterfinal: Won vs. Luke Lardarello (PSU-Mt. Alto); 7-4
Semifinal: Won vs. Blaise Wagner (Stevens); Fall (2:56)
1st Place Match: Won vs. Joel Martsinovsky (Stevens); 8-2

Mike Waszen – 197 lbs. (FIRST PLACE)
Champ. Round 1: bye
Quarterfinal: Won vs. Sam Stokes (TCNJ); TF 17-0
Semifinal: Won vs. Maximo Ruiz (Stevens); TF 18-1
1st Place Match: Won vs. Josh LaBarbera (Penn); 3-2

Harrison Shapiro – 197 lbs. (FIFTH PLACE)
Champ. Round 1: bye
Quarterfinal: Won vs. Sean Gillespie (Liberty); 10-3
Semifinal: Lost vs. Josh LaBarbera (Penn); 4-1
Cons. Semi: Lost vs. Nikolas Miller (Hofstra); 5-1
5th Place Match: Won vs. Maximo Ruiz (Stevens); 12-0