ITHACA, N.Y. – The Franklin & Marshall wrestling put an exclamation point on its weekend at the EIWA Championships as Wil Gil (141 lbs.) and Cenzo Pelusi (285 lbs.) both closed out their tournaments with wins in the medal round during session IV on Sunday afternoon. In addition to his qualifying spot in the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Gil took home the bronze medal while Pelusi took a step up to seventh on the awards podium.
Gil continued his relentless scoring all weekend with a 10-5 victory over fifth-seeded Connor McGonagle of Lehigh in the bronze medal match. Facing a fellow NCAA qualifier, Gil jumped out to the early lead with a takedown and two near fall during the first period. He later added a reversal after taking down before securing a takedown close to the end of the second period. McGonagle got his only offensive points of the match in third period with a takedown, but it made no difference in the end result as Gil claimed the 10-5 victory.
Pelusi capped his first-ever EIWA podium finish with a 3-1 sudden victory win against No. 13 seed Daniel Conley of Columbia. The two wrestlers traded escapes during the second and third periods, with Pelusi earning his escape during the final two minutes of regulation. The Diplomat senior kept the pressure up late and earned a stall call during the third period, but the grapplers still went into overtime locked at one-all. That relentless attack finally paid off as the minutes wore on as Pelusi was able to spin around behind opponent and cap his weekend with a 3-1 victory.
The NCAA will now announce the remaining at-large bids to the NCAA Division I Championships on Tuesday, March 8 via a press release. That will precede the NCAA Selection Show, which is slated for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 9 where the 141 lb. bracket, along with all of the other weights, will be revealed.
Franklin & Marshall Place Winners
#7 Wil Gil (141 lbs.) – NCAA Qualifier; Third Place
Round of 16: Won vs. #10 Timothy Levine (Brown); Fall: 2:09
Quarterfinals: Lost vs. #2 CJ Composto (Penn); 6-3
Consolation III: Won vs. #13 J.J. Wilson (Cornell); 15-5
Consolation IV: Won vs. #8 Danny Coles (Princeton); 10-5
Consolation Semi: Won vs. #4 Darren Miller (Bucknell); Fall: 5:37
Third Place: Won vs. #5 Connor McGonagle (Lehigh); 10-5
#9 Cenzo Pelusi (285 lbs.)
Round of 16: Won vs. #8 Matt Cover (Princeton); 3-2
Quarterfinals: Lost vs. #1 Jordan Wood (Lehigh); 8-0
Consolation 3: Won vs. #6 Ryan Catka (Navy); 3-2
Consolation IV: Lost vs. #5 Joe Doyle (Binghamton); 4-1
Seventh Place: Won vs. #13 Daniel Conley (Columbia); 3-1 (SV)
