COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Runner-up finishes by senior John Morrison at 149 and freshman Patrick Ammirati at 133 highlighted the Ursinus College wrestling team's showing at the Will Abele Invitational this afternoon. Four other grapplers placed third in their respective brackets for the Bears, who placed third with 84.5 points. Wisconsin-Eau Claire captured the team title with 149 points, with Washington and Jefferson taking second (103.5).
Ammirati began his journey to the title bout with an 8-1 victory over Connor Hay of College of Mount St. Vincent, then pinned Washington and Jefferson's Michael Smith in the semifinals. The freshman gave a game effort in the championship round, but Wisconsin-Eau Claire's Scott Worlund used late takedowns in all three periods to take the title with a 7-3 decision.
Morrison, meanwhile, reached the finals in his last Will Abele Invitational. He knocked off Washington and Jefferson's Daniel Pommerer, 15-4, in the first round before pinning the Presidents' Trevor Meyers in the semifinals. That set up a championship clash with Wisconsin-Eau Claire's Roy Munroe, who claimed the crown with a 4-0 decision.
Freshman Colin Monahan placed third in the 125-pound bracket. He won his first two bouts by fall, first against Camden's David Harris-Norton and then opposite Case Western Reserve's Luke Dimuzio. Fellow rookie Brandon Greyson also reached the semifinals, via a 15-4 major decision against Camden's Mike Dimeo. Both fell by major decision in the semifinal round before winning their consolation matches to set up an all-Bear brawl for third; Greyson defeated Dimuzio, 14-7, while Monahan edged Case Western's Matt Moy, 4-3. Monahan captured the third-place crown when Greyson withdrew due to injury.
Sophomore Donte McCathy was fourth at 141, defeating Middlesex's Devin Jefferson by technical fall before dropping a tight 8-6 verdict to Maryland-Baltimore County's Myles Franklin in the third-place bout.
Freshman Zachary Dellicompagni recorded a consolation victory at 157.
Fellow first-year Zachary Goranson, meanwhile, rolled through the consolation bracket to post a third-place finish at 165. He started with a technical fall against UMBC's Nick Calomeris before falling to Wisconsin Eau Clair's Travis Cripe in the quarterfinals, then won four straight bouts to take third. First, he pinned UMBC's Michael Bowersox in just 31 seconds, then did the same to Rhode Island College's Vincent Drago, this time in 56 seconds. Goranson eked past RIC's Ricardo Cole, 2-1, to reach the third-place final, where he prevailed via injury.
Another rookie, Anthony Cutrufello, advanced to the semifinals at 174. He blanked Valley Forge Military Academy's Ryan Joyce, 11-0, before falling to Jordan Juliano, 8-3, in the semifinals and by an 8-7 margin opposite Camden's Matt O'Donnell.
Sophomore Cody Richmond turned in a third-place showing of his own at 184. He logged one-point victories over Middlesex's Adeshola Logunleko (12-11) and Camden's Samer Younes (3-2) in the consolation rounds, then advanced to the third-place bout via medical forfeit. He cruised past Wisconsin-Eau Claire's Alex Knutson, 16-0.
Freshman William McGinley was third at 197, shaking off a first-round defeat to pin Washington and Jefferson's Tyler White and land a 4-1 victory over Middlesex's Evan Goodridge. He captured third with a 4-2 triumph against Case Western Reserve's Gavin Dersh-Fisher.