November 19, 2006 - 3rd at Keystone Classic
November 19, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
College Wrestling
Rider 3rd at Keystone Classic
PHILADELPHIA, PA—With two champions, a runner-up, a third place finisher and a fourth place finisher, the Broncs placed third of 10 teams at the Keystone Classic, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania Sunday. “We could have done better, but we also could have done worse,” said Rider head coach Gary Taylor. “We didn’t have our best overall performance, and that is what it would have taken to defeat quality teams like Columbia and Penn.”
Junior T. J. Morrison (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cedar Cliff) won his 197 pound weight class, and sophomore Doug Umbehauer (Shamong/Lenape) won his 174 pound weight class. “T.J. and Doug both looked very sharp, as did Dave Miller,” Taylor said.
Senior Dave Miller (Southampton/Lenape) placed second at 157, freshman Mike Miller (Wilmington, DE/Brandywine) placed third at 184, sophomore Mike Kessler (Randallstown, MD/Owings Mills) placed fourth at 149, freshman 125 Tommy Lorenzo (West Orange) placed fifth, junior Don Fisch (Williamstown/Delsea) placed sixth at 141, and sophomore heavyweight Peter Reid (Flemington/Bridgewater-Raritan) placed sixth.
T. J. Morrison, ranked 20th in the nation and the top seed at 197, won 8-4 in the finals against the second seed, Jack Sullivan of Penn. T. J. Morrison won by tech fall, 20-5, over Tyler Blakey of Penn in the second round after a first round bye. In the semi-finals he defeated the fourth seed, Kirk Davis of Columbia 9-2. Morrison also won his weight class at the 2005 Classic.
Umbehauer, the top seed at 174, won 11-2 in the finals over the third seed, Rudy Rueda of American. Umbehauer nearly pinned Rueda at the end of the second period but time ran out. “I think he was pinned, but the official didn’t make the call,” Taylor said. “Doug was crushing today. He just manhandled people.”
Umbehauer pinned Andrew Jimenez of Brown in 1:26 in the second round, after receiving a first round bye. In the semi-finals, he won a 9-1 major decision over the fifth seed, John Barone of Duke. Umbehauer also won his weight class at the 2005 Classic. “Doug wrestled real well,” Taylor said.
Dave Miller, ranked 16th in the country and the second seed at 157, lost 3-2 in the finals the top seed, Matt Dragon of Penn. “Dave got beat by a guy who was in the top 12 last year,” Taylor said. “There was a real discrepancy between the two officials over back points that were not given to Dave. If he had been awarded those points that would have been the match. That’s the best I’ve seen him wrestle all year. He seems to be on a mission right now.”
Miller received a first round bye before winning a 10-1 major decision over Jeremiah Hill of Mercyhurst. In the semi-finals, Miller pinned the third seed, Devon Mesanko of Columbia in 6:09.
Mike Miller, the second seed at 184, defeated Dan Tulley of Duke 7-5 in sudden victory in the second round after a first round bye. Miller defeated Neil Cisper of Penn 6-4 in the third round, before losing 5-0 in the semi-finals to the third seed, Colin Hitschler of Penn. In the consolations, Miller defeated Dan Fox of Duke 11-4, and in the battle for third place defeated Cisper 3-1.
Kessler, ranked 20th in the nation and the top seed at 149, won 3-2 over Voris Tejeda of Duke, and then defeated Bryan Tracey of Brown 6-1 in the second round. In the semi-finals, Kessler lost 3-2 to Matt Dunn of Columbia. In the consolations, Kessler defeated Tejeda 4-3, and in the battle for third place lost 4-3 to the fourth seed, Sam Alvarenga of VMI. “Kessler wrestled very hard in a talented weight class,” Taylor said.
Fisch, ranked seventh in the nation and the top seed at 141, lost in the consolations to the fourth seed, JJ Zanetta of Mercyhurst, 7-5, and in the battle for fifth place lost by medial forfeit to the second seed, Carlo Farrandino of Boston U. Fisch won an 11-2 major decision over Ryan Goddu of Boston U. in the first round and pinned Brian Spangler of Penn in 1:56 in the second round. In the semi-finals, Fisch lost to the fifth seed, Kyle Borshof of American, 9-3. “Don is in a slump right now, but he’ll be all right,” Taylor said.
Lorenzo lost to the second seed, Brandon Kinney of Columbia 9-5 in the first round. In the consolations Lorenzo won by tech fall (18-3) over Mike Piccirillo of Brown, defeated EinFrank of Brown 13-7, and upset the fourth seed, Abby Rush of Boston U. 7-6. He then lost 3-1 to the second seed, Brandon Kinney of Columbia, and in the battle for fifth place defeated Kellan McKeon of Duke 6-4. “Lorenzo showed great improvement in this tournament,” Taylor said.
Wrestling unattached, Reid lost to the fifth seed, Levon Mock of Brown 6-3 in the first round. In the consolations Reid defeated Derrick Callaway of Appalachian State 8-1, defeated Rider teammate, senior Nick Ciufo (Pt. Pleasant) 6-4, and pinned Chris Moulton of Penn in 1:58. In a re-match against Mock, Reid was pinned in 1:40. In the battle for fifth place, lost 6-2 to Jed Wade of Columbia. “Reid showed improvement,” Taylor said. “He placed in his first tournament.”
Junior Zac Cunliffe (Farmingdale/Howell), the second seed at 133, won a 12-2 major decision over Ryan Buff of Boston U in the first round, before an injury forced him to forfeit his second bout. Cunliffe placed fifth at the 2005 Classic after losing in the semi-finals.
Freshman Rob Morrison (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cedar Cliff) pinned Mat Koelling of Duke in 3:07 in the first round, before losing 6-2 to the sixth seed, Hudson Harrison of Mercyhurst in the second round. In the consolations, R. Morrison defeated Victor Mocco of Columbia 4-3 before losing 5-4 to Aaron Glover of Duke.
Ciufo, the sixth seed at heavyweight, defeated Jed Wade of Columbia 5-2 in the first round, before losing 11-1 to the third seed, Scott Buhman of VMI, and to Reid. “It was just another wrestle-off for those two, and it is probably better to have it in an atmosphere like this,” Taylor said.
Also wrestling unattached, senior 125 Jim Porch (Magnolia/Sterling) lost to Greg EinFrank of Brown 7-2 in the first round. Porch then lost to Kellan McKeon of Duke 3-2 in the consolations.
Freshman 133 Matt Bradley (Jackson) lost to the fifth seed, Jeff Schell of Brown 6-2 in the first round. Bradley then lost 10-6 in the consolations to the fourth seed, Joey Whittaker of Boston U. 10-6.
Junior 141 Dan Silberman (Bensalem, PA) lost to the sixth seed, Brandon Franklin of VMI 7-2 in the first round.
Rider placed sixth of 10 teams last year at the Keystone Classic.
Rider competes at the prestigious Las Vegas Open December 1-2.
Team Standings: Columbia 149, Pennsylvania 136, Rider 105, American 105, Appalachian State 76.5, Duke 66.5, Brown 56.5, Mercyhurst 54.5, VMI 26.5, Boston U. 23.0
-RU-
