GRANTHAM, Pa. – On the final tournament before exams, the Ursinus College wrestling team finished fifth at the Petrofes Invitational hosted by Messiah College with a total team score of 120 points.
Over the two-day event, the Bears had several wrestlers finish in the top eight.
Junior Daniel Manganaro finished second at the 184 bracket. He started his journey with a pin of Kelly Pullen of Wilkes in 1:51, then earned a 14-9 decision over Nicholas Cross of McDaniel before falling to Josh Thompson of Messiah in the title bout 8-6 in overtime.
Senior Eli Gaylor was another wrestler who finished second overall, this time at the 149 pound bracket. He started with a pin over Joshua Hadley in 4:05, then defeated Mason Goretsas of McDaniel 4-1 to move into the semfinals. After defeating Ben Kazimir of Mount Union 2-1, he was tech falled in the title bout by Mark Hartenstine of Wilkes 15-0.
Freshman Derek Arnold finished third at 149. After a pin of Will Alfano of Bridgewater in 4:04, he pinned Nathaniel Spilka of Muhlenberg in 2:11. He racked up another pin, this time over Tyler Johnston of Mount Union in 6:08.
In the semifinals, he was defeated by Hartenstine, 7-0. In the wrestlebacks, he defeated Zach Joseph of Springfield by tech fall, 15-0, then defeated Johnston again by decision, 8-5.
At 157, junior Richard Jasinski finished fourth on the day. He had an opening 8-2 win over Erik Meyers of McDaniel, then scored a 16-5 major decision over Stephen Turner of Wilkes before falling to Larry Cannon of Messiah, 4-2.
In the wrestlebacks, he defeated Luke Balina of Springfield in 52 seconds, then scored a 6-3 win over Matt Armano of Bridgewater. After defeating Jacob English of Messiah, 7-1, he lost to Jon Garrison of Mount Union, 3-0 in the third place bout.
Third place honors also went to freshman Alex Kramer at 141. He started his day with a 17-0 tech fall over Ryan Smith of Wilkes, before defeating Jacob Strohman of Springfield by pin in 1:48. After falling to Kaleb Loht of Messiah by a 10-2 major decision, he defeated Alvonte Drummond of McDaniel, 6-2, then beat Strohman again for third place, 7-5.
At 285 pounds, freshman Matan Peleg finished fourth overall. He started with a 3-1 loss to William Fletcher of Wilkes, then defeated David Varian of Springfield in the start of the wrestlebacks 4-3 in two overtimes. After pinning Christian Lighten of Springfield in 3:36, he defeated Nicholas Dawson of Wilkes 8-5. Advancing to the third-place bout via a medical forfeit, he lost to Taylor Avino of McDaniel by a 6-4 decision.
At 133, sophomore Keven Hoogheem finished fifth. He pinned Rodney Benjamin of Springfield in 3:45 to start his day, before falling Jeremy Border of Mount Union by a 4-2 score. In the wrestlebacks, he defeated Kenny Hayes of Ursinus by pin in 1:23, then defeated Tyler Keane of Springfield 11-7. After falling to Cory Fleming of Wilkes in 3:45, he won his fifth place match over Paul Sughrue of Bridgewater via medical forfeit.
At 174 pounds, freshman Kyle Shronk finished sixth. He pinned Vincent Silano of Springfield in 47 seconds, before advancing to the semifinals with a 5-2 win over Brogan Endres of Mount Union. In the semifinals, he lost to Chad Zeigler of Mount Union by a 7-5 decision.
In the wrestlebacks, he medically forfeited to Jonathan Goodwin of Messiah after being hurt in the match against Nick Miller of Mount Union.