Wilkes Open
WILKES-BARRE, PA- Competing in the “Rose Bowl of
wrestling” the Ephs faced a field comprised mainly of
Division I wrestlers. The undermanned Ephs, lacking both Ryan Malo
and Carl Breitenstein who wrestled at the Midlands Open, were
undaunted by the challenge and managed to put together a strong
team effort.
The Ephs were paced by 149 pound junior Corey Paulish. In the
first round Paulish beat a talented Josh Fitch of Lehigh, 3-2.
Paulish cruised through his next two matches and faced Kellen
Bradley of Rutgers in the semi-finals. Bradley, who put together an
impressive run of his own, was overwhelmed by Paulish and lost 4-2.
In the finals Paulish fell to David Greenwald of Rutgers.
Paulish’s second place performance was the best finish of any
Division III wrestler in the tournament, an impressive feat for the
talented junior. Head Coach Dan DiCenzo was pleased with
Paulish’s performance saying, "Corey had a great day and I
was not surprised to see him compete at a high level against very
strong competition. Corey loves the challenge and this tournament
did a nice job of getting him ready for big matches he will have
later in the season."
Senior Josh Mattana, wrestling at 125 went 3-2 in the tournament.
On his way to his 7th place finish Mattana defeated two Division I
wrestlers as well as Dan Franke from Division III power The College
of New Jersey, 2-1. “"Josh had a strong tournament.”
Said coach DiCenzo, “He has continued to improve on the mat
and it is helping him beat some top level competition. “
184 pound senior, Nate Shippee, also went 3-2 on the day. In
Shippee’s first match of the day he pinned Nicholas Camera of
Springfield six seconds into the second period. After falling in
the second round Shippee rebounded with two decisive victories over
Division I opponents. Shippee tech-falled Jason Floor of
Millersville 15-0 and scored a major decision over Kristpher
Grafalo of Lock Haven, 13-3. Coach DiCenzo was delighted with his
senior’s 5th place finish saying, "Every weekend Nate
continues to beat good wrestlers. He looked very well competing
against Division I competition this weekend and he has already beat
2 returning Division III National Qualifiers."
The Ephs also received strong efforts from their underclassmen.
Freshman Tom Foote went 3-2 on the day. Freshman Ces Antista and
sophomore Colin Curzi were also strong, going 2-2 in the
tournament.
Complete
Wilkes Bracket
Midlands Invitational
EVANSTON, ILL- Senior Carl Breitenstein and Junior Ryan Malo
traveled to Northwestern University to take part in the Midlands
Invitational, a tournament that brings together some of the best
wrestling programs in the country.
157 pound Carl Breitenstein went up against wrestlers from two
traditional wrestling powerhouses, Iowa and Iowa State. In his
first match Breitenstein lost to Iowa’s Derek St. John 10-2.
Last year St. John was the top ranked wrestling recruit in the
country and lived up to his top-billing. He went on to finish 5th
in the tournament. In Breitenstein’s second match he lost to
Andrew Sorenson of Iowa State. "Carl and Ryan came out to the
Midlands to wrestle the best competition in the country and the
tournament did not disappoint.” Said Coach DiCenzo, “
Carl wrestled kids from the top two teams in Division I and those
matches will help him as we continue our season."
Ryan Malo, wrestling at 197, lost his opening match but quickly
found his stride. Malo pinned four Division I wrestlers in a row
and reached the All-American round. Malo’s pins came against
wrestlers from Northwestern, Northern Illinois, San Francisco
State, and Michigan State. Upon the conclusion of the
tournament Malo was awarded the prize for most total pins. In the
All-American round Malo fell to Brent Haynes of Missouri, the
eighth ranked wrester in Division I. Coach DiCenzo was pleased with
Malo’s effort saying, “"Ryan wrestled well this weekend
and really improved on his performance a month earlier at the Penn
State Open. Ryan is continuing to get better every day and he never
stops challenging himself."
Williams tallied 10 points and finised 28th overall, best among
Division III teams and three points ahead of host Nothwestern.
Midlands
Bracket
The Eph grapplers’ home opener is on Monday January, 4th
against both Simpson College and University of Southern Maine.
