MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall wrestling team opened up a busy weekend by sending 15 wrestlers to compete at Millersville's Shorty Hitchcock Memorial Open on Saturday. The Diplomats came away with three medalists at the event. First-year Brandt Fajerman (141 lbs.) placed in a college tournament for the first time in his young career by taking sixth. Competing unattached, Aidan O'Shea (133 lbs.) and Nick Alvarez (165 lbs.) finished with third and sixth place finishes.
The Diplomats won a combined 27 matches among those 15 wrestlers and showed the ability to put up a number of points as they recorded four pins, seven technical falls, and five major decisions on the day.
Fajerman lost only to a pair of experienced collegiate wrestlers from Penn and West Virginia. In between those results, all four of Fajerman's victories came by bonus points as he recorded two major decisions, one technical fall, and one pin. He scored 64 match points during those four consecutive wins and allowed just seven during his three matches that did not end in a fall.
As the No. 2 seed in the tournament, Aidan O'Shea took third with his only loss coming to Cadet World Champion Bo Bassett in the semifinals. During his other three wins, O'Shea did not surrender a point and scored 22. His day was highlighted by Division I victories against Virginia Tech and Lock Haven. Nick Alvarez also competed unattached and placed sixth at 165 lbs. in his season debut. Alvarez got stronger as the day went along with a major decision during his final two victories before a sudden victory match during the medal round.
Drew Currier fell just one match short of the medal round at 133 lbs. as he recorded two technical falls and a 12-0 major decision to bounce back from a tough opening match. Hunter Hockensmith (149 lbs.), Chris Arciuolo (157 lbs.), Avery Clarke (157 lbs.), Makoa Niebel (165 lbs.), and RJ Moore all won two matches each. Arciuolo, Clarke, and Niebel each ended one of their victories early by either a fall or technical fall.
Bradon Sauter (133 lbs.), Billy Templeton (149 lbs.), and Tyler Shea (157 lbs.) all had victories that ended with an early match termination before they matched up with their teammates in the consolation rounds. Shea's win was the first of his career. Jack Parker also won a match at 125 lbs., starting his tournament with an 18-5 major decision against EIWA foe Navy.
The Diplomats will return to action on Sunday with 12 more wrestlers scheduled to compete at the Keystone Classic. Action at Penn gets underway at 9:30 a.m. with FloWrestling carrying both the live brackets and the live video of the day's action.
Franklin & Marshall Results
Jack Parker (125 lbs.)
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: Won vs. Matthew Ricci (Navy); 18-5
Quarterfinals: Lost vs. Nick Treaster (Unattached); 17-3
Consolation of 8 #2: Lost vs. Tommy Link (Army Prep); 7-4
Drew Currier (133 lbs.)
Round of 32: Lost vs. Nieko Malone (Rider); 14-3
Consolation of 16 #1: Bye
Consolation of 16 #2: Won vs. Seth Hagensen (Sussex County); TF: 4:57 (18-0)
Consolation of 8 #1: Won vs. Brandon Sauter (F&M); TF: 6:41 (18-2)
Consolation of 8 #2: Won vs. Trey Friedman (Drexel); 12-0
Consolation of 4: Lost vs. Javien DeLeon (Kutztown); TF: 4:58 (20-5)
Brandon Sauter (133 lbs.)
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: Lost vs. #3 Bo Bassett (Unattached); TF: 1:31 (19-4)
Consolation of 16 #2: Won vs. Caden Hagler (Virginia Tech); 8-6
Consolation of 8 #1: Lost vs. Drew Currier (F&M); TF: 6:41 (18-2)
#2 Aidan O'Shea (133 lbs.); Third Place – Unattached
Round of 32: Bye
Round 16: Won vs. Javien DeLeon (Kutztown); TF: 3:00 (15-0)
Quarterfinals: Won vs. Jack Bastarrika (Virginia Tech); F: 3:51
Semifinals: Lost vs. #3 Bo Bassett (Unattached); TF: 1:45 (19-4)
Third Place: Won vs. Sean Logue (Lock Haven); 2-0
Brandt Fajerman (141 lbs.); Sixth Place
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: Lost vs. Evan Mougalian (PRTC); F: 3:53
Consolation of 16 #2: Won vs. Venumadhava Mirel (Navy); 19-6
Consolation of 8 #1: Won vs. Kelvin Rodriguez (East Stroudsburg); F: 6:02
Consolation of 8 #2: Won vs. Josh Flores (Messiah); TF: 2:29 (15-0)
Consolation of 4: Won vs. Gabriel Ruggieri (Pitt.-Johnstown); 14-1
Fifth Place: Lost vs. #1 Sam Hillegas (West Virginia); F: 0:38
Hunter Hockensmith (149 lbs.)
Round of 32: Lost vs. Melvin Miller (Unattached); TF: 4:57 (20-5)
Consolation of 16 #1: Bye
Consolation of 16 #2: Won vs. Billy Templeton (F&M); 5-0
Consolation of 8 #1: Won vs. Shaun Quirk (Messiah); 11-4
Consolation of 8 #2: Lost vs. Kaeman Smith (Navy); 17-3
Billy Templeton (149 lbs.)
Round of 32: Won vs. Colton Minerva (Penn State Behrand); 5-3
Round of 16: Lost vs. #2 Craig Cook (Millersville); F: 2:32
Consolation of 16 #2: Lost vs. Hunter Hockensmith (F&M); 5-0
Chris Arciuolo (157 lbs.)
Round of 32: Won vs. Charles Lepage (Messiah); TF: 5:49 (17-1)
Round of 16: Won vs. Cooper Price (Kutztown); 5-0
Quarterfinals: Lost vs. #3 Kristopher Ketchum (Nassau); 10-1
Consolation of 8 #2: Lost vs. Eric Falleni (East Stroudsburg); 8-6
Avery Clarke (157 lbs.)
Round of 32: Lost vs. Taythan Silva (Army Prep); TF: 3:10 (21-5)
Consolation of 16 #1: Won vs. Sean Smith (Kutztown); F: 2:58
Consolation of 16 #2: Won vs. Tyler Shea (F&M); 2-0
Consolation of 8 #1: Lost vs. Eric Falleni (East Stroudsburg); 8-1
Tyler Shea (157 lbs.)
Round of 32: Won vs. Christopher Anderson (East Stroudsburg); TF: 5:16 (18-2)
Round of 16: Lost vs. Connor Eck (Lock Haven); TF: 5:56 (19-1)
Consolation of 16 #2: Lost vs. Avery Clarke (F&M); 2-0
Anthony Micci (157 lbs.)
Round of 32: Lost vs. Nick Cicciarelli (West Virginia); 11-2
Consolation of 16 #1: Lost vs. Christian Hodges (Navy); 2-0
Makoa Niebel (165 lbs.)
Round of 32: Lost vs. #1 Peyton Hall (West Virginia); F: 1:48
Consolation of 16 #1: Bye
Consolation of 16 #2: Won vs. Kenneth Rhodes (RPW); TF: 5:16 (18-1)
Consolation of 8 #1: Won vs. Richard DeRick (Kutztown); 7-1
Consolation of 8 #2: Lost vs. Nick Alvarez (F&M); 13-1
Nick Alvarez (165 lbs.); Sixth Place – Unattached
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: Won vs. Jerome Scott (Columbia); 8-5 (SV)
Quarterfinals: Lost vs. #4 Dalton Gimbor (Kutztown); 12-5
Consolation of 8 #2: Won vs. Makoa Niebel (F&M); 13-1
Consolation of 4: Won vs. Miles Bassett (Bucknell); F: 2:02
Fifth Place: Lost vs. Owen McMullen (Unattached); 4-1 (SV)
RJ Moore (174 lbs.) – Unattached
Round of 32: Won vs. Ethan Baney (Kutztown); 6-3 (SV)
Round of 16: Won vs. Sergio Cespedes (East Stroudsburg); 5-1
Quarterfinals: Lost vs. Ethan Wilson (Drexel); 11-2
Consolation of 8 #2: Lost vs. Dylan Elmore (Navy Prep); 4-1
Jake Allred (184 lbs.)
Round of 32: Lost vs. Dylan Kohn (West Virginia); F: 3:40
Consolation of 16 #1: Bye
Consolation of 16 #2: Lost vs. #1 Dennis Robin (West Virginia); F: 1:34
