MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall wrestling team saw four individuals make their way on to the medal stand Saturday during Millersville's Shorty Hitchcock Memorial Open. Those performances helped the Diplomats place second out all of the college teams in the field with their 94 points just being bested by 99.5 from Rutgers.
Charlie Colantonio (125 lbs.) led the way with a third-place finish at 125 lbs. Colantonio advanced to the semifinals with a pair of decisions, but the No. 6 seed in the bracket fell to the No. 2 seed just before the finals. The F&M first-year ultimately took the bronze after receiving a forfeit during his third-place match. Brandt Fajerman also made a run to the semifinals before taking fourth place. He recorded two falls against Lock Haven and Rutgers, along with a major decision over EIWA foe Bucknell before a pair of losses to EIWA opponents during his final two bouts.
The 125 lb. weight continues to impress with a young group as first-year Ejiro Montoya placed fifth at the weight to join his teammate on the medal stand. Montoya's only loss came to the No. 1 seed as he had a technical fall against Millersville and major decision over eighth-seeded Grayson McLellan of Bucknell. Montoya was set to face Rutgers' fifth-seeded Kurt Wehner for the fifth-place match, but the Scarlet Knight had reached his match limit during the previous round. Jake Neill was the final place winner for the Diplomats, taking sixth at 157 lbs. He lost only to the No. 3 seed from Rutgers during the opening round, but ran off six straight victories (including one medical forfeit) before hitting his match limit just prior to the medal round match. Neill's day included a major decision and technical fall to go with two decisions.
Making his descent down to 149 lbs., first-year Seth Weaver won four matches during his new weight class debut. Those victories included three falls and one medical forfeit. Fellow first-year Leo Varga won three matches by bonus points at 184 lbs. He started his tournament with a first period pin before a pair of technical falls during the consolation matches. Makoa Niebel (165 lbs.), Noah Bash (174 lbs.), Jake Allred (184 lbs.) and heavyweight Brody Kline each won multiple matches on Saturday. Both of Niebel's victories came by decision, with Bash picking up a fall in 1:34 to highlight his day. Allred secured a major decision and fall, while Kline had a pin in just 31 seconds to start his tournament before winning a hard-fought 2-2 tiebreak match against West Virginia to advance to the quarterfinals. Brandon Sauter (141 lbs.), Kyle Deisley (149 lbs.), Billy Templeton (157 lbs.), Tyler Shea (165 lbs.), and RJ Moore (197 lbs.) also added wins to the team's performance.
Outside of the attached wrestlers competing for the Diplomats, veteran redshirts Pat Phillips (141 lbs.) and James Conway (184 lbs.) both took home individual titles while competing unattached. Phillips went a perfect 4-0 with four decisions as the second seed in his bracket. Conway recorded a pin and three technical falls before capping his tournament with a decision to win the championship match.
Wrestling wraps up its November schedule next Sunday, November 24 at the Keystone Classic. Held at the University of Pennsylvania, Virginia Tech, Lock Haven, Drexel, Central Michigan, Harvard, and Edinboro are also scheduled to compete in the eight-team tournament.
Franklin & Marshall Results
#6 Charlie Colantonio (125 lbs.) – Third Place
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: Won vs. Braxton Keiffer (Millersville); 6-1
Quarterfinals: Won vs. Jack Silfies (Unattached); 5-1
Semifinals: Lost vs. #2 Keito Shaw (Alvernia); 13-1
Third Place: Won vs. Lukas Littleton (Unattached); Forfeit
Ejiro Montoya (125 lbs.) – Fifth Place
Round of 32: Won vs. Gavin Boland (Millersville); 14-8
Round of 16: Won vs. #8 Grayson McLellan (Bucknell); 18-4
Quarterfinals: Lost vs. #1 Davis Motyka (PRTC); F: 4:22
Consolation of 8 #2: Won vs. Joshua Jasionowicz (East Stroudsburg); 10-7
Consolation of 4: Won vs. Dom Flatt (Millersville); TF: 6:20 (21-5)
Fifth Place: Advanced vs. #5 Kurt Wehner (Rutgers); no contest (match limit)
Brandt Fajerman (141 lbs.) – Fourth Place
Round of 32: Won vs. #8 Jacob Torres (Lock Haven); F: 1:23
Round of 16: Won vs. Trevor Nugent (Bucknell); 9-1
Quarterfinals: Won vs. #1 Max Hermes (Rutgers); F: 5:51
Semifinals: Lost vs. Malachi Bordovsky (Drexel); F: 7:00
Third Place: Lost vs. #6 Ryan Franco (Army); F: 3:44
Brandon Sauter (141 lbs.)
Round of 32: Lost vs. Joe Innamorato (Centenary); 8-3
Consolation of 16 #1: Bye
Consolation of 16 #2: Won vs. Nicholas Gorman (LIU); 8-5 (SV)
Consolation of 8 #1: Lost vs. Lucas Tirpak (Delaware Valley); F: 4:08
Seth Weaver (149 lbs.)
Round of 64: Won vs. Evan Wilcox (Pitt-Johnstown); F: 4:17
Round of 32: Lost vs. Drew McGourtey (Unattached); F: 2:28
Consolation of 32 #2: Bye
Consolation of 16 #1: Won vs. Troy Gentzel (East Stroudsburg); F: 0:33
Consolation of 16 #2: Won vs. Austin McMillan (Delaware Valley); MFF
Consolation of 8 #1: Won vs. Santhosh Bonda (Unattached); F: 2:10
Consolation of 8 #2: Lost vs. McKaden Speece (Unattached); 8-2
Kyle Deisley (149 lbs.)
Round of 64: Bye
Round of 32: Lost vs. #7 Elijah White (American); TF: 6:12 (19-2)
Consolation of 32 #2: Bye
Consolation of 16 #1: Won vs. Carlos Delgado (Sussex County); TF: 2:56 (16-1)
Consolation of 16 #2: Lost vs. Mason Barvitskie (Army); 13-5
Jake Neill (157 lbs.) – Sixth Place
Round of 64: Lost vs. #3 Dagger Condomitti (Rutgers); F: 0:28
Consolation of 32 #1: Bye
Consolation of 32 #2: Won vs. Mukhammad Nasriddinkhujaev (Temple); 9-5
Consolation of 16 #1: Won vs. Joe Keesee (Nassau CC); 18-5
Consolation of 16 #2: Won vs. Jensen Offerman (Nassau CC); TF: 7:00 (15-0)
Consolation of 8 #1: Won vs. Justin Soriano (Drexel); 8-2
Consolation of 8 #2: Won vs. Kelly Kakos (Lock Haven); MFF
Consolation of 4: Won vs. Casper Stewart (Army Prep); 8-4
Fifth Place: No contest vs. Michael Dolan (West Virginia); match limit
Billy Templeton (157 lbs.)
Round of 64: Bye
Round of 32: Won vs. Thomas Kaliamouris (Camden County); 12-6
Round of 16: Lost vs. #2 Connor Eck (Lock Haven); TF: 6:28 (17-2)
Consolation of 16 #2: Lost vs. Justin Soriano (Drexel); 8-3
Chris Arciuolo (157 lbs.)
Round of 64: Lost vs. Aboubakare Diaby (Drexel); 6-2
Consolation of 32 #1: Bye
Consolation of 32 #2: Lost vs. Elias Long (Pitt-Johnstown); 8-6
Makoa Niebel (165 lbs.)
Round of 32: Won vs. Ricky Halford (Pitt-Johnstown); 8-4
Round of 16: Lost vs. #8 Sean Seefeldt (PRTC); F: 6:11
Consolation of 16 #2: Won vs. Reece Smith (Centenary); 4-1
Consolation of 8 #1: Lost vs. Jeremy Pitcock (Blair Academy); F: 2:39
Tyler Shea (165 lbs.)
Round of 32: Won vs. Reece Smith (Centenary); 14-2
Round of 16: Lost vs. #7 Kaeden Berger (Clarion); 4-1
Consolation of 16 #2: Lost vs. Barry Norman (Blair Academy); TF: 3:49 (19-2)
#7 Noah Bash (174 lbs.)
Round of 32: Won vs. Tony Zona (Pitt-Johnstown); 8-3
Round of 16: Won vs. Ashby Diaz (Brookville); F: 1:34
Quarterfinals: Lost vs. #2 Lance Urbas (PRTC); 12-0
Consolation of 8 #2: Lost vs. #3 Andrew Christie (Army); TF: 3:00 (15-0)
Michael Fuccilli (174 lbs.)
Round of 32: Lost vs. Andrew Christie (Army); TF: 3:25 (17-1)
Consolation of 16 #1: Lost vs. Gage LaPlante (Army Prep); TF: 5:17 (17-1)
Leo Varga (184 lbs.)
Round of 32: Won vs. Shawn Pawlowski (Sussex County); F: 1:14
Round of 16: Lost vs. Adam Waters (Unattached); TF: 2:59 (16-0)
Consolation of 16 #2: Won vs. Kody Edwards (East Stroudsburg); TF: 3:10 (17-1)
Consolation of 8 #1: Won vs. Angelo Plazza (Centenary); TF: 6:46 (16-1)
Consolation of 8 #2: Lost vs. #4 Mark Ayala (Army Prep); 4-1
Jake Allred (184 lbs.)
Round of 32: Won vs. Kody Edwards (East Stroudsburg); 22-10
Round of 16: Lost vs. Timothy Pawlicki (Centenary); F: 3:20
Consolation of 16 #2: Won vs. Shawn Pawlowski (Sussex County); F: 5:21
Consolation of 8 #1: Lost vs. #2 Michael Toranzo (SKWC); 10-3
#4 RJ Moore (197 lbs.)
Round of 32: Won vs. Sam Myers (Alvernia); 14-1
Round of 16: Lost vs. Hayden Packer (Rutgers); 5-3
Consolation of 16 #2: Lost vs. #2 Owen Ott (Pitt-Johnstown); 2-0
Brody Kline (285 lbs.)
Round of 32: Won vs. Andrew Geisenheimer (Camden County); F: 0:31
Round of 16: Won vs. #4 Elijah Hunter (West Virginia); 2-2 (TB-2)
Quarterfinals: Lost vs. Spencer Lanosga (Unattached); F: 0:15
Consolation of 8 #2: Lost vs. Cael Mielnick (Blair Academy); 2-0
Jake Rickett (285 lbs.)
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: Lost vs. Ajay Hiller (Anibals Animals); F: 1:47
Consolation of 16 #2: Bye
Consolation of 8 #1: Lost vs. Cael Mielnick (Blair Academy); F: 2:35
