College Wrestling
Rider Runner-Up at 21st Keystone Classic
Conor Brennan Wins at 165
PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—With a champion, two runners-up and a third place finish, the Rider University wrestling team finished second of 12 teams at the 21st Keystone Classic, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania at the Palestra on Sunday, the second year in a row that the Broncs have finished runner-up.
Rider finished with 117.5 points, just 14.5 points behind the University of Pittsburgh with the Broncs sending three wrestlers to the finals and placing eight in the top six.
“Our schedule is tough throughout the season,” said head coach Gary Taylor about facing the competition he saw on Sunday. “It's still November and this is just one piece to that puzzle. We are trying to get wrestlers ready for the end of the year, the conference and ultimately the NCAA Championships. We will see this kind of competition throughout the entire year.”
At 165, senior Conor Brennan (Brick/Brick Township) collected Rider's first Keystone Title in four years. Brennan won by major decision over Wyatt Wilson (Indiana), 13-4 in his opening match and defeated Dakota Juarez (Eastern Michigan) 5-4, before winning against Cody Weircioch (Pittsburgh) 10-6 in the semifinals. In the finals, Brennan beat Forrest Przybysz (Appalachian State) by a 7-3 score to secure the title.
“Conor had a great day and wrestled well,” said Taylor. “He had a lot of good performances.”
"It feels great to win such a respected tournament as the Keystone," said Brennan. "I've worked harder this year then I ever had in the past and it's paying off."
A two-time National qualifier and two-time Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) Champion, Brennan is Rider's first Keystone Champion since Jim Resnick won the second of back to back titles in 2011 (174) after winning the 165 weight class in 2010. Rob Morrison was also a Keystone Champion at the 174 weight class in 2010.
At 157, sophomore Chad Walsh (Cherry Hill/Camden Catholic) went 4-1 to place runner-up. Walsh defeated Joe Oliva (U. Penn) by 7-3 decision, then pinned Tyler Tarsi (Harvard) in 3:36 and defeated Alex Gregory (Indiana) 1-0 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Walsh pinned David Peters-Logue (Appalachian State) in 5:23 before losing to May Bethea (U. Penn) 10-8 in the second sudden victory period of the championship match.
“Chad had a great day,” Taylor said. “He lost a tough match in overtime. He had the riding time to win the match but got hit with a stall and that put it into another overtime.”
At 197, junior Ryan Wolfe (New Castle, Del./Caravel Academy) went 4-1 to also place runner-up. Wolfe began the tournament with an 8-4 decision over Tyler Radford (Appalachian State). Wolfe then defeated Jacob Parker (Pittsburgh) by a 10-3 score, Carson Stack (U. Penn) by an 8-3 margin, and Nick Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) by a 4-2 score. In the finals, Wolfe took his only loss on the day at the hands of #11 Anthony Abro (Eastern Michigan), 3-2.
“Wolfe lost to a nationally ranked wrestler in the final,” said Taylor. “Both Walsh and Wolfe wrestled very, very well and they had good performances all day.”
At 133, senior Robert Deutsch (Cherry Hill/Eastern Regional) went 4-1 to place third. Deutsch won his round of 16 match by fall over Irvin Enriquez (Appalachian State) in 5:36 and in the quarterfinals, he was again victorious by a 9-3 score over Ben Ross (Pittsburgh). Deutsch took his first and only loss in the semifinals, falling to Dom Forys (Pittsburgh), 3-1. Deutsch went on to collect a 13-7 win in the consolation semifinals over Andy Schutz (Bloomsburg), before defeating 16th ranked Caleb Richardson (U. Penn) 3-1 in sudden victory in the third place match.
"I feel overall our team showed up to wrestle," Brennan said. "We had a lot of guys step up and win big matches after they took a tough loss. Our 133 pounder (Deutsch), persevered through a tough loss in the semifinals and came back for third. I am proud of the team and how everyone wrestled."
At 184, sophomore Michale Fagg-Daves (Somerset/Franklin) went 4-2 to place fourth. Fagg-Daves began the day with a 17-1 technical fall over Derek Thurman (Virginia Military), followed by a 16-5 major decision over Marcus Johnson (Appalachian State). Fagg-Daves would then lose to 11th ranked wrestler Lorenzo Thomas (U. Penn) in the semifinals by technical fall (21-6). Fagg-Daves went on to defeat Taylor Jackson (Appalachian State) 5-1 before losing to Stephen Loiseau (Drexel) by a 4-2 score in the third place match.
At heavyweight, red-shirt sophomore Mauro Correnti (Delran/Holy Cross) went 3-2 to finish fourth. Correnti defeated John Rizzo (Pittsburgh) 5-2 in his opening match, followed by a 5-3 victory over Antonio Pelusi (Franklin & Marshall). In the semifinals, Correnti was pinned in 4:47 by Denzel Dejournette (Appalachian State), the 12th ranked heavyweight. Correnti then defeated Joseph Goodhart (Drexel), 7-3 in the consolation semifinals before losing to Nick Gajdzik (Harvard) by a 3-2 score in the third place match.
At 141, junior Paul Kirchner (Somerville) went 5-2 to place fifth. Kirchner began the day with a 3-2 loss against Todd Preston (Harvard), the 11th ranked 141 in the nation. Kirchner rebounded with pins over Michael Worthington (Sacred Heart) in 1:33, and Darren Ostrander (Virginia Military) in 2:48. Kirchner then defeated Nick Zanetta (Pittsburgh) by a score of 9-4, before losing to the 15th ranked 141, Rick Durso (Franklin & Marshall), 6-3. Kirchner then won in the fifth place match by medical forfeit over Michael Longo (Appalachian State).
At 149, sophomore B.J. Clagon (Toms River/Toms River HS South) went 3-3 on the day to collect sixth place. Clagon started off with a 5-3 decision over Matthew Zovistoski (Appalachian State), before pinning Patrick Hogan (Harvard) in 24 seconds, and defeating Emmitt Kelly (Virginia Military) 9-7 in sudden victory. Clagon then lost 3-1 to Nick Barber (Eastern Michigan) in the semifinals. He went on to lose by medical forfeit to Stevan Smith (Virginia Military) in the consolation semifinals and to Emmitt Kelly (Virginia Military), also by medical forfeit to place sixth.
At 174, red-shirt sophomore Wayne Stinson (Wrightstown/Northern Burlington Regional) went 2-2. Stinson lost his opener to Te'Shan Campbell (Pitt), 6-5 before winning by fall over Alex Kail (Pitt), 2:09. Stinson then won a major decision, 16-5 over Casey Glunt (Bloomsburg) before losing by fall in the fourth round of wrestlebacks to Nick Kee (Appalachian State), 6:04.
At 141, senior Jimmy Morris (Northport, N.Y./St. Anthony's) went 2-2. Morris won in the round of 32 with an 11-2 decision over Anthony Canfora (Drexel). In the round of 16, Morris lost by tech. fall to Mike Racciato (Pitt), 20-5. Morris rebounded for a tech. fall of his own over Adam Barrick (Bloomsburg), 19-3 before being eliminated in the third round of wrestlebacks by Cole Weaver (Indiana), 8-3.
At heavyweight, senior Greg Velasco (Union Beach/Keyport) went 1-2. Velasco won a TB-1 decision over Tyler Hall (U. Penn), 5-2 before losing in the quarterfinals to Ryan Solomon (Pittsburgh), 4-0. In the fourth round of wrestlebacks, Velasco lost a 5-3 decision to Patrik Garren (U. Penn).
At 174, junior Steve Nelson (Haddonfield/Haddon Twp.) went 1-2. Nelson lost in the round of 16 to Conan Schuster (Sacred Heart) via major decision, 10-0 before rebounding for a 4-2 (TB-1) decision over Chad Decker (Eastern Michigan). Nelson then lost to Donovan McAfee (Pitt) who scored a 3-1 sudden victory decision in the third round of wrestlebacks.
At 157, senior Curt Delia (Mullica Hill/Delsea) went 1-2. Delia opened with a tech. fall over Nick Stager (Harvard), 21-6 before losing in the round of 16 to Brooks Martino (U. Penn) 6-4. Delia was eliminated in the second round of wrestlebacks, 4-1 by Brendon Colbert (Bloomsburg).
At 125, junior Brenden Calas (Clark/Seton Hall Prep) went 1-2. Calas lost his opening match to Nolan Hellickson (Harvard), 7-2 before scoring a major decision over Jeremy Schwartz (U. Penn), 15-4. Calas was eliminated in the third round of wrestlebacks by Zachary Fuentes (Drexel) who won 3-1.
At 125, sophomore Zach Valcarce (Villas/Lower Cape May) went 1-2. Valcarce lost his opening match to Armando Torres (Eastern Michigan) 8-5 before defeating Sam Holandez (Bloomsburg) 6-3. Valcarce was eliminated by Dalton Henderson (VMI) in the fourth round of wrestlebacks 6-4.
At 184, senior Andrew Reca (Robbinsville) went 0-2. In the round of 16, Reca lost by major decision to Ryan Wosick (U. Penn), 8-0 and lost in the third round of wrestlebacks to Michael Mocco (Harvard), 7-0.
Rider placed runner-up at the Keystone last year and the Broncs were sixth in 2013 after placing third in both 2011 and 2012. Rider won the Keystone Classic in 2004.
“I'm disappointed that we didn't win it,” Taylor said. “We wanted to win the title but runner-up is better than finishing down in the standings. The effort today shows we have some balance and we will continue to get better and show improvement. It was a pretty good performance.”
Rider travels to Clarion University on November 29 for an EWL match.
-RU-
Team Scores:
1. Pittsburgh 132.0
2. Rider 117.5
3. Pennsylvania 101.5
4. Eastern Michigan 92.5
5. Appalachian State 91.5
6. Drexel 84.5
7. Harvard 70.5
8. Indiana 65.5
9. VMI 38.0
10. Franklin & Marshall 32.5
11. Bloomsburg 28.0
12. Sacred Heart 22.5
