EVANSTON, Ill. – Competing at the prestigious Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, Bryce Kresho advanced to day two in what is considered one of the most difficult regular season tournaments on the Division I schedule. The Diplomats' junior captain won three straight wrestle back matches and finds himself in the consolation round of 12 heading into session III which is set to begin at 11:30 a.m. (EST) on Monday morning.
Kresho entered the Midlands tied for the Division I lead among all wrestlers with 16 wins while ranking eighth with five pins. He added to both of those totals during the first two sessions on Sunday with two of his three victories coming via bonus points. After dropping his opening match to Harvard, Kresho began his journey through the consolation bracket with a 9-5 win against Rutgers' Joseph Fongaro. Just one match later, he climbed up the national falls leaderboard with a second period fall against Illinois' Jayden Colon for his second consecutive BIG victory. Kresho put himself within one match of placing with his second win of the year against Harvard's Jameson Garcia. Already with a 7-4 win in his favor over the Crimson grappler at the Keystone Classic, Kresho widened the gap this time with a technical fall in 6:50 as he racked up a 19-3 advantage in points.
Jack Parker also won a pair of matches in wrestle back action for the Diplomats who entered a duo of competitors into the nationally-renowned field. Parker fell to second-seeded and nationally-ranked Max Gallagher of Penn during his opening match, but bounced back with a technical fall against Missouri's Luqman Masud and 9-0 major decision versus SIU Edwardsville's Deion Johnson. Following back-to-back wins, Parker saw his run come to a close with a hard-fought 7-4 decision against Rutgers.
Wrestling at the 60th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships will continue on Monday with Session III starting at 11:30 a.m. (10:30 local). Kresho will have one of the first matches as he squares off with Northern Illinois' Jacob Brya for a spot on the podium.
Full Franklin & Marshall results
Jack Parker (125 lbs.)
Round of 64: Lost vs. #27 Max Gallagher (Penn); 15-3
Consolation Round 1: Bye
Consolation Round 2: Won vs. Luqman Masud (Missouri); TF: 6:25 (17-2)
Consolation Round 3: Won vs. Deion Johnson (SIU Edwardsville); 9-0
Consolation Round 4: Lost vs. Ayden Smith (Rutgers); 7-4
Bryce Kresho (141 lbs.)
Round of 32: Lost vs. Dante Frinzi (Harvard); F: 2:55
Consolation Round 1: Won vs. Joseph Fongaro (Rutgers); 9-5
Consolation Round 2: Won vs. Jayden Colon (Illinois); F: 4:58
Consolation Round 3: Won vs. Jameson Garcia (Harvard); TF: 6:50 (19-3)
Consolation Round of 12: vs. Jacob Brya (Northern Illinois) (Monday morning Session III)
