BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall wrestling team battled some of the nation's top individuals and teams on Sunday during the Journeymen Collegiate Classic. Consisting of round robin action split amongst different pools within each weight class, Bryce Kresho (149E) and Noah Fox (174B) both won tournament titles. Two Diplomats also faced the No. 1 wrestler in the country at their weight, while only a loss to the No. 2 wrestler in the country kept James Conway from taking home the title at 184 lbs.
Noah Fox picked up bonus points during each of his three victories. He started his day with an 8-0 major decision against Bloomsburg's Anthony DeRosa before a default victory versus EIWA foe Matthew Walsh of Harvard. Fox posted his strongest match of the afternoon to close his dominant showing with a 14-1 major decision against Parker Jackson of Lock Haven. Bryce Kresho also registered bonus points during both of his pool matches, with a fall against Mason Myers (Pitt-Johnstown) and 9-0 major versus Bo DiJulius (LIU). Kresho capped his perfect day with a 1-0 win on the strength of third period ride-out against Hofstra's Alex Turley for his second EIWA victory of the tournament.
James Conway made the finals of the A pool at 184 lbs. behind a pair of strong conference victories against Lehigh's JT Davis (w, 7-4) and Penn's Maximus Hale (w, 9-4). Conway, the No. 21-ranked wrestler in FloWrestling's latest release, fell by a 13-4 major against Penn State's second-ranked Bernie Truax to close out another strong weekend of wrestling. Mason Leiphart, the 25th-ranked wrestler at 133 lbs. according to FloWrestling, drew a pair of top-five opponents (including defending national and world champion Vito Arajau of Cornell) to start his competitive pool, but ending up taking fifth in the A bracket after receiving a medical forfeit during his final match. Ranked No. 32 at 197 lbs., John Crawford also got to face the No. 1 wrestler in the country at his weight in Penn State's Aaron Brooks. Crawford would eventually take fourth in his bracket after starting his tournament with an 11-5 victory over Arizona State's Jacob Meissner.
The Diplomats finished with 20 wins among their 15 entered wrestlers and had a number of strong performances throughout the pools. Luke Bender advanced to the finals of the 149E pool. He defeated EIWA opponents from LIU and Sacred Heart, but fell to Penn's Kelly Dunnigan during his EIWA heavy bracket. Drew Currier (133C), Josh Hillard (141D), and Noah Bash (165E) also took third in their respective brackets.
Currier pinned Sacred Heart's Jake Carlucci and closed his day with another conference win against LIU's Chris Betancourt. Hillard started his day with a fall against B1G foe Michael Leveille of Purdue and emerged a 7-4 winner against Cornell's Mark Botello to close his placement round. Noah Bash secured another win by fall for the Diplomats as he planted Sacred Heart's David Rozenblum to the mat in just under two minutes.
Eric Howe (125C), Pat Phillips (141B), and Josh Palmucci (165C) each had hard-fought victories throughout the day. Howe bested LIU's Ariel Waldman by a 6-3 score before placing fourth, with Phillips and Palmucci closing their days with victories in the placement round. Phillips shutout NC State's Tyler Tracy by a 6-0 score while Palmucci received a medical forfeit victory.
The tournament circuit during the month of November continues next weekend for the Diplomats as they will split their squad between Millersville's Shorty Hitchcock Memorial and Penn's Keystone Classic. The Shorty Hitchcock Memorial is set for Saturday, November 18 with the Keystone Classic scheduled for Sunday, November 19.
Franklin & Marshall Results
Eric Howe (125 lbs. – Fourth Place (C)
Round 1: Bye
Round 2 Won vs. Ariel Waldman (LIU); 6-3
Round 3: Lost vs. Braeden Davis (Penn State); TF: 4:00 (20-5)
Third Place: Lost vs. Bronson Garber (Bloomsburg); 7-4
#25 Mason Leiphart (133 lbs.) – Fifth Place (A)
Round 1: Lost vs. #1 Vito Arujau (Cornell); 11-2
Round 2: Lost vs. #5 Michael Colaiocco (Penn); 8-0
Round 3: Bye
Fifth Place: Won vs. Jason Cox (NC State); MFF
Drew Currier (133 lbs.) – Third Place (C)
Round 1: Won vs. Jake Carlucci (Sacred Heart); F: 6:59
Round 2: Bye
Round 3: Lost vs. Alex Almeyda (Penn); F: 4:16
Third Place: Won vs. Chris Betancourt (LIU); 9-3
Pat Phillips (141 lbs.) – Fifth Place (B)
Round 1: Bye
Round 2: Lost vs. Devin Matthews (LIU); 4-1
Round 3: Lost vs. Rich Treanor (Army); 9-5
Fifth Place: Won vs. Tyler Tracy (NC State); 6-0
Josh Hillard (141 lbs.) – Third Place (D)
Round 1: Bye
Round 2: Won vs. Michael Leveille (Purdue); F: 6:46
Round 3: Lost vs. Tyler Morris (Army); 11-5
Third Place: Won vs. Mark Botello (Cornell); 7-4 (SV)
Bryce Kresho (141 lbs.) – First Place (E)
Round 1: Won vs. Mason Myers (Pitt-Johnstown); F: 4:33
Round 2: Bye
Round 3: Won vs. Bo DiJulius (LIU); 9-0
First Place: Won vs. Alex Turley (Hofstra); 1-0
Luke Bender (149 lbs.) – Second Place (E)
Round 1: Won vs. Thomas Bonasera (LIU); 5-1
Round 2: Bye
Round 3: Won vs. Dakota Asuncion (Sacred Heart); TF: 5:46 (18-3)
First Place: Lost vs. Kelly Dunnigan (Penn); 12-2
Chris Arciuolo (157 bs.) – Sixth Place (D)
Round 1: Bye
Round 2: Lost vs. Kaiden Wagner (Lock Haven); 3-0
Round 3: Lost vs. Mark Metz (Army); 4-3
Fifth Place: Lost vs. Eric Tigue (Buffalo); 7-3
Anthony Micci (157 lbs.) – Fifth Place (E)
Round 1: Lost vs. Benny Rodgers (Cornell); TF: 6:58 (19-4)
Round 2: Lost vs. Finn Owen (Cornell); 7-1
Round 3: Lost vs. Kyler Crawford (Pitt-Johnstown); 15-2
Round 4: Bye
Round 5: Lost vs. vs. Donavan Smith (LIU); 5-1
Josh Palmucci (165 lbs.) Fifth Place (C)
Round 1: Lost vs. Tanner Craig (Army); 7-0
Round 2: Bye
Round 3: Lost vs. Dillon Keane (Pitt-Johnstown); 7-2
Fifth Place: Won vs. Nico Bogardus (Sacred Heart); MFF
Noah Bash (165 lbs.) – Third Place (E)
Round 1: Lost vs. Jake Slotnick (Hofstra); 7-3
Round 2: Won vs. David Rozenblum (Sacred Heart); F: 1:59
Round 3: Lost vs. Marcus Petite (Buffalo); 11-0
Noah Fox (174 lbs.) – First Place (B)
Round 1: Won vs. Anthony DeRosa (Bloomsburg); 8-0
Round 2: Bye
Round 3: Won vs. Matthew Walsh (Harvard); DEF: 3:39
First Place: Won vs. Patrick Jackson (Lock Haven); 14-1
#21 James Conway (184 lbs.) – Second Place (A)
Round 1: Won vs. JT Davis (Lehigh); 7-4 (SV)
Round 2: Bye
Round 3: Won vs. Maximus Hale (Penn); 9-4
First Place: Lost vs. #2 Bernie Truax (Penn State); 13-4
#32 John Crawford (197 lbs.) – Fourth Place (B)
Round 1: vs. Bye
Round 2: Won vs. Jacob Meissner (Arizona State); 11-5
Round 3: Lost vs. #1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State); TF: 6:11 (19-3)
Third Place: Lost vs. Christian Knop (NC State); 4-1
Tyler O'Boyle (285 lbs.) – Sixth Place (E)
Round 1: Lost vs. Ethan Miller (Lock Haven); TF: 6:40 (18-3)
Round 2: Lost vs. Ashton Davis (Cornell); TF: 2:04 (15-0)
Round 3: Bye
Fifth Place: Lost vs. Damion Schunke (Arizona State); F: 3:59
