YORK, Pa. – A trio of Bears reached the quarterfinals and six more remained alive in consolation brackets as the Ursinus College wrestling team finished the first day of York's New Standard Invitational in a tie for seventh place.
Freshmen Collin Wickramaratna (125) and Kyle Schaffer (197) joined senior William McGinley (285) in the last eight of their respective main draws for Ursinus, which accumulated 26 points to end Day 1 tied with TCNJ and ahead of Centennial Conference rivals Stevens and Merchant Marine.
Wickramaratna continued a strong start to his debut campaign with two more victories in the 125-pound bracket, putting himself in prime position to build upon a runner-up finish at the Messiah Invitational and a third-place showing at the Fall Brawl. The rookie downed Stevens' Akhil Vega, 7-1, in the first round and overcame an early takedown to pin York's Brendan McDonough in the round of 16. Wickramaratna will meet Kyle Kaiser of Roger Williams in the quarterfinals Saturday morning.
Schaffer is well on his way to the best tournament showing of his young career, posting back-to-back dominating results to gain the last eight at 197 pounds. He scored a 16-1 technical fall over Richard Knapp, racking up two four-point near falls in the first period alone, and dropped Roger Williams' Noah Tandy early in the third period of their second-round bout. Schaffer booked a showdown with Johnson & Wales' Michael DiNardo, the nation's fourth-ranked wrestler, in the quarters.
McGinley trailed his first match, 3-2, to Baldwin Wallace's James Ritchie before notching a reversal with six seconds left in the first period and pinning his opponent at the bell. McGinley is set to take on Merchant Marine's Blake Bunce in the quarterfinals.
Senior Derek Gulotta remained alive in the 133-pound bracket with a pair of consolation triumphs, a 10-0 shutout of Merchant Marine's Jace Garza and a 5-0 defeat of teammate Ray Calderaio.
Freshman Noah Supsic used a dominant second period that included a pair of two-point near falls to edge Johnson & Wales' Brady Robin, 10-7, in the 157-pound consolation.
Senior Jarret DiGiantomasso picked up two consolation victories at 165. A late escape and riding time gave DiGiantomasso an 8-6 result over Elizabethtown's Colton Shriner, and he then blanked freshman teammate Jason Zollers, 7-0.
Senior Anthony Cutrufello erased a 4-0 deficit in his opening bout to slip York's Billy Myers, 6-5, with a third-period reversal at 174. After dropping his second-round clash, Cutrufello pinned Aidan Cardaman of Baldwin Wallace in less than a minute.
Sophomore Ben Maack pinned Elizabethtown's Dayne Ross in 45 seconds to open his 184-pound tournament. He lost in the round of 16 and will join freshman Malcolm Hunt in tomorrow's consolations.
The Bears return to action Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m.