LANCASTER, Pa. – The Division I Franklin & Marshall wrestling team welcomed a number of the nation's best wrestlers to the 11th Annual David H. Lehman '68 F&M Open on Friday for one of the toughest fields in the tournament's history. With the celebrating its 100th anniversary during the 2023-24 season, James Conway became the Diplomats' seventh all-time finalist at the event to headline four place winners which matched the previous high for F&M from the both the 2019 and 2020 tournaments.
Conway – the top seed at 184 lbs. – started his tournament with back-to-back technical falls before defeating the No. 8 and No. 4 seeds at his weight. Those results included a 5-4 comeback win against Jakob Gilfoil of Army Prep before a strong 7-2 decision against fourth-seeded Caleb Hopkins of Campbell. The Diplomats' junior was mere moments away from capturing the Diplomats' first-ever individual title at the event as he was tied 1-1 in the third period after trading escapes before having an initially called take down waved off and eventually award to No. 22 Jacob Nolan of Binghamton following the scramble. He would escape to cut the deficit to 4-2, but was unable to find the winning attack in the final minute of the match.
After a finals appearance at the Lehman Open last year, John Crawford entered this year's tournament as the No. 3 seed and lived up to that billing as he defeated opponents from Rutgers, Harvard, and Army. Those victories included an EIWA pin against Harvard and a huge 8-6 come-from-behind win against sixth-seeded Wolfgang Frable of Army before he suffered his only defeat of the day against No. 20 Levi Hopkins of Campbell who entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed. Despite being denied in the semifinals, Crawford finished his tournament in dominant fashion as he claimed a 9-0 major decision against North Carolina State's Christian Knop during the third-place match.
Mason Leiphart (133 lbs.) and Pat Phillips (141 lbs.) each finished their tournaments with sixth-place showings. Leiphart racked up two more technical falls to add to his school record and finished his tournament with a 14-6 major decision against Maryland's King Sandoval as his only setback was a 6-3 decision to Drexel John Hildebrandt during the round of 16. The win against the Terrapin advanced Leiphart to the fifth-place match, but he was unable to wrestle in that match having hit his six match limit during the previous round. Phillips lost just twice to the same opponent from Army – including once in overtime on the championship side of the draw – while additionally earning EIWA victories against Penn, Harvard, Drexel, and Army during a 4-2 day for the F&M junior.
Noah Fox nearly made it five F&M placewinners for the tournament as he advanced to the quarterfinals with major decisions against EIWA foes from Sacred Heart and Lehigh before a narrow 11-9 defeat to the No. 26-ranked wrestler from Campbell at 174 lbs. and was again close in a 6-3 decision just one win away from the fifth-place match. Aidan O'Shea wrestled unattached at 133 lbs. and advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to the No. 18 wrestler in the nation at his weight after a pair of EIWA victories versus Drexel and Hofstra highlighted his day.
Bryce Kresho had another strong day for the Diplomats with three wins – including two falls and a major decision – while Josh Hillard (149 lbs.) and Jake Allred (184 lbs.) each won a pair of matches for the tournament hosts. Seven other individuals also got their hands raised once throughout the day for Franklin & Marshall.
Wrestling will now have just over two weeks away from competition before the team returns to dual meet action on Sunday, January 21 for a 3 p.m. EIWA dual against Hofstra.
Complete Franklin & Marshall Results
Eric Howe (125 lbs.)
Round of 64: Bye
Round of 32: Lost vs. #5 Nick Treaster (Unrostered); 11-1
Consolation of 32 #2: Bye
Consolation of 16 #1: Won vs. Jared Chuquilin (LIU); F: 5:44
Consolation of 16 #2: Lost vs. Dylan Acevedo (Hofstra); 4-2
Jack Parker (125 lbs.) – Unattached
Round of 64: Bye
Round of 32: Lost vs. #3 Anthony Molton (Campbell); TF: 6:15 (21-5)
Consolation of 32 #2: Bye
Consolation of 16 #1: Won vs. Isaiah Adams (Harvard); TF: 6:40 (24-6)
Consolation of 16 #2: Lost vs. Cooper Shore (Campbell); 14-3
#4 Mason Leiphart (133 lbs.) – Sixth Place
Round of 64: Bye
Round of 32: Won vs. Bentley Ellison (Campbell); TF: 4:00 (15-0)
Round of 16: Lost vs. John Hildebrandt (Drexel); 6-3
Consolation of 16 #2: Won vs. Jaxon Maroney (Drexel); 10-1
Consolation of 8 #1: Won vs. Sean Pierson (Princeton); TF: 1:26 (15-0)
Consolation of 8 #2: Won vs. Micah Roes (Binghamton); 7-4
Consolation of 4: Won vs. King Sandoval (Maryland); 14-6
Fifth Place: No Contest vs. Tyler DeKraker (Unrostered); Match limit
Aidan O'Shea (133 lbs.) – Unattached
Round of 64: Bye
Round of 32: Won vs. Jaxon Maroney (Drexel); 8-5
Round of 16: Won vs. Ryan Arbeit (Hofstra); 12-5
Quarterfinals: Lost vs. #2 Domenic Zaccone (Campbell); F: 1:37
Consolation of 8 #2: Lost vs. King Sandoval (Maryland); F: 1:47
#5 Pat Phillips (141 lbs.) – Sixth Place
Round of 64: Bye
Round of 32: Won vs. Spencer Barnhart (Penn); 11-4
Round of 16: Lost vs. #8 Rich Treanor (Army); 4-1 (SV)
Consolation of 16 #2: Won vs. Michael Jaffe (Harvard); 2-1
Consolation of 8 #1: Won vs. Gabe Onorato (Drexel); 1-0
Consolation of 8 #2: Won vs. Logan Brown (Army); MFF
Consolation of 4: No contest advance vs. Wynton Denkins (Campbell); Match limit
Fifth Place: Lost vs. #8 Rich Treanor (Army); 7-5
Bryce Kresho (141 lbs.)
Round of 64: Won vs. Julian Sanchez (Army); F: 4:10
Round of 32: Won vs. Connor Swaim (Pittsburgh); F: 3:50
Round of 16: Lost vs. #4 Connor McGonagle (Lehigh); 9-4
Consolation of 16 #2: Won vs. Deon Pleasant (Drexel); 12-3
Consolation of 8 #1: Lost vs. Wynton Denkins (Campbell); 13-5
Brandon Sauter (141 lbs.)
Round of 64: Won vs. Aidan Micheli (Millersville); 13-4
Round of 32: Lost vs. #2 Wyatt Henson (Lock Haven); TF: 2:48 (17-2)
Consolation of 32 #2: Lost vs. Wynton Denkins (Campbell); F: 1:46
Drew Currier (141 lbs.)
Round of 64: Lost vs. Devin Matthews (LIU); 9-4
Consolation of 32 #1: Bye
Consolation of 32 #2: Lost vs. Dario Lemus (Maryland); 17-4
Brandt Fajerman (141 lbs.)
Round of 64: Bye
Round of 32: Lost vs. #3 Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh); TF: 6:39 (18-3)
Consolation of 32 #2: Lost vs. Michael Jaffe (Harvard); TF: 4:57 (18-3)
Josh Hillard (149 lbs.)
Round of 64: Won vs. Giovanni Alejandro (Rider); 8-5
Round of 32: Won vs. Kaden Setzer (Kent State); 7-2
Round of 16: Lost vs. Nick Stonecheck (Lock Haven); TF: 6:01 (16-1)
Consolation of 16 #2: Lost vs. DaShawn Farber (Lock Haven); 15-3
Hunter Hockensmith (149 lbs.)
Round of 64: Lost vs. Ryan Zimmerman (American); F: 2:10
Consolation of 32 #1: Lost vs. Oliver Fairchild (Campbell); 6-3 (SV)
Avery Clarke (157 lbs.)
Round of 64: Won vs. Eric Broadie (Rider); 6-1
Round of 32: Lost vs. Jackson Dean (Penn); F: 2:32
Consolation of 32 #2: Lost vs. Eli Tuckey (Millersville); 18-10
Chris Arciuolo (157 lbs.)
Round of 64: Won vs. Eli Tuckey (Millersville); 8-2
Round of 32: Lost vs. Jamison Colongione (LIU); 11-3
Consolation of 32 #2: Lost vs. Eric Broadie (Rider); 9-0
Billy Templeton (157 lbs.)
Round of 64: Bye
Round of 32: Lost vs. #7 Jared Keslar (Pittsburgh); 7-0
Consolation of 32 #2: Lost vs. Keegan Knapp (Kent State); 11-2
Dominic Wheatley (157 lbs.)
Round of 64: Lost vs. Kaden Milheim (American); 7-5
Consolation of 32 #1: Bye
Consolation of 32 #2: Lost vs. Luke Bender (Unrostered); 4-2
Tyler Shea (157 lbs.)
Round of 64: Lost vs. #9 Dylan Evans (Pittsburgh); TF: 2:14 (19-4)
Consolation of 32 #1: Lost vs. Kevin Schork (Maryland); TF: 4:49 (17-0)
Josh Palmucci (165 lbs.)
Round of 64: Won vs. Calvin Pineda (Sacred Heart); F: 2:42
Round of 32: Lost vs. Tanner Craig (Army); 13-3
Consolation of 32 #2: Lost vs. Brett Barbush (Lock Haven); 15-11
Makoa Niebel (165 lbs.)
Round of 64: Lost vs. #4 Dalton Harkins (Army); F: 0:34
Consolation of 32 #1: Lost vs. Jonathan Parrilla (Millersville); 12-1
#6 Noah Fox (174 lbs.)
Round of 64: Bye
Round of 32: Won vs. Aidan Zarrella (Sacred Heart); 16-2
Round of 16: Won vs. Zeke Dubler (Lehigh); 13-1
Quarterfinals: Lost vs. #3 Austin Murphy (Campbell); 11-9
Consolation of 8 #2: Lost vs. Caleb Campos (American); 6-3
Nick Alvarez (174 lbs.) – Unattached
Round of 64: Bye
Round of 32: Lost vs. Garrett Bilgrav (Columbia); TF: 6:09 (16-0)
Consolation of 32 #2: Bye
Consolation of 16 #1: Lost vs. Ethan Wilson (Drexel); F: 0:44
#1 James Conway (184 lbs.) – Second Place
Round of 64: Bye
Round of 32: Won vs. Alex Whitworth (Harvard); TF: 4:46 (20-4)
Round of 16: Won vs. Caleb Roe (Presbyterian); TF: 5:39 (18-3)
Quarterfinals: Won vs. #8 Jakob Gilfoil (Army Prep); 5-4
Semifinals: Won vs. #4 Caleb Hopkins (Campbell); 7-2
First Place: Lost vs. #2 Jacob Nolan (Binghamton); 4-2
Jake Allred (184 lbs.)
Round of 64: Won vs. Natty Lapinski (Drexel); 13-3
Round of 32: Lost vs. #7 Colin Fegley (Lock Haven); TF: 3:52 (16-1)
Consolation of 32 #2: Won vs. Patrick Adams (Campbell); F: 4:20
Consolation of 16 #1: Lost vs. Kyle Snider (Kent State); 5-2
#3 John Crawford (197 lbs.) – Third Place
Round of 64: Bye
Round of 32: Won vs. Hadyn Packer (Rutgers); 4-2
Round of 16: Won vs. Max Agresti (Harvard); F: 4:04
Quarterfinals: Won vs. #6 Wolfgang Frable (Army); 8-6
Semifinals: Lost vs. #2 Levi Hopkins (Campbell); 9-0
Third Place: Won vs. Christian Knop (NC State); 9-0
Harrison Shapiro (285 lbs.)
Round of 64: Lost vs. Chris Powell (LIU); 7-1
Consolation of 32 #1: Bye
Consolation of 32 #2: Won vs. Larry Vola (Maryland); 7-6
Consolation of 16 #1: Lost vs. Zach Delsanter (Penn); 6-5
Tyler O'Boyle (285 lbs.)
Round of 64: Bye
Round of 32: Lost vs. Jamier Ferere (Navy); F: 1:13
Consolation of 32 #2: Lost vs. Brentan Simmerman (Kent State); F: 2:14
Quincy Long (285 lbs.)
Round of 64: Lost vs. #2 Taye Ghadiali (Campbell); TF: 2:03 (19-4)
Consolation of 32 #1: Bye
Consolation of 32 #2: Lost vs. Jeff Crooks (Harvard); F: 1:18
