Wrestling 11/4/2017 10:00:00 PM

Hladney claims 197 crown at Messiah Invitational

GRANTHAM, Pa. -- The Elizabethtown College wrestling team kicked off a new season, Saturday, but a few grapplers were in midseason form. Senior Rocco Hladney won the 197-pound weight class, while Philip Torresani (125) and Quinn Ruble (197) placed for the Blue Jays at the Messiah Invitational.

Hladney breezed through to the finals in his first competition at 197. The Middletown, Del., native produced back-to-back major decisions over Lycoming's Loc Long (14-2) and Messiah's Karrington Washington (16-4) before picking up a technical fall over Lycoming's Travis Ogden in a matchup of d3wrestle.com Honorable Mention picks in the semifinals.

Waiting for Hladney in the finals was returning All-American and nationally-ranked Kyle Koser of Messiah. Holding down No. 3 in d3wrestle's poll and No. 4 in the NWCA's edition, Koser carved an equally impressive path to the title match with a pin, major decision and technical fall. Hladney left no doubt that he, too, is deserving of top 10 recognition, holding Koser to a single point in a 6-1 victory.

Torresani came from the bottom of the bracket at 125, winning three straight matches to reach the final. In his first-round match, the senior controlled Gettysburg's Alex Shaffer for a 16-5 major decision. Torresani took a 3-1 decision over McDaniel's Jacob Reid in the quarterfinals and an 11-7 decision against Ursinus' Brandon Miller in the semifinals.

Wheaton (Ill.) senior Carlos Fuentez, ranked in the top 10 by the NWCA (7) and d3wrestle.com (8), was able to take advantage of point-scoring opportunities to deal Torresani a 20-2 tech fall defeat in the championship bout. Still, the runner-up finish was a career-best tournament showing for Torresani, who took third at Messiah's season-opening tournament in each of the last two seasons.

Ruble was part of a tough 197 bracket with teammates Hladney and Nikolay Savin. He opened with a 5-2 win over Charles Wildermuth of Ursinus, but was defeated by Koser, 12-1, in the quarterfinals. A 60-second fall over Messiah's Malachi Thompson, followed by a 3:47 fall against Lycoming's Long and a medical forfeit led Ruble to the consolation final. The senior from Southampton, N.J., turned out another strong effort, topping Messiah's Washington 9-4 for third-place.

Four Blue Jay rookies achieved their first career victories on Saturday.

At 125, Austin Jones advanced to the semifinals with a 10-9 decision over Gettysbug's Lenny Ogozalek and a 5-1 decision against McDaniel's Robert Kaminski. Jones fell to eventual weight class champ Fuentez in the semis, before Ogozalek got the best of him in a rematch in the consolation semis.

Zach Martin and Josh McLaughlin, Elizabethtown's 133-pound entries combined to win five times. Martin reached the quarterfinals, pinning Wheaton's Sean Ferguson in 4:10 for his first career win and fall. McLaughlin recorded a pair of decisions in consolation bouts, before bowing out in the consolation quarterfinals.

In the 157-pound bracket, Kyle Bythell won three matches en route to a spot in the semifinals against weight class winner Hadyn Swartwood of Lycoming. Bythell registered a 9-2 decision over UMBC's Miles Franklin in an opening round match. He followed that up with a 16-1 tech fall against McDaniel's John Tyler Watkins and a 13-7 decision over Messiah's Matt Pangle. Swartwood ended the freshman's run with a pin in the semis and Bythell dropped a consolation semifinal match to Wheaton's Jonavan Huggins.

Dayne Ross won his first-round match at 184 and finished the day with three wins after a fall and major decision in the consolation bracket. Eric Eckstein also moved on with an opening-round victory at 285. Josh Paisley (141) and Chris Kummerer (165) each won a pair of consolation matches, with Kummerer recording his first pin of the year.

Elizabethtown took sixth of the 10 competing teams, collecting 48.5 points. Messiah easily claimed the top spot with 142.5 points to second-place Lycoming's 90.5. Gettysburg was third with 75.7.

The Blue Jays are back on the mat next Saturday at the Ursinus Fall Brawl.

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Players Mentioned

Eric Eckstein: 285; 5' 10"; Junior

Rocco Hladney: 184; 5' 11"; Junior

Chris Kummerer: 157; 5' 7"; Junior

Quinn Ruble: 174/197; 6' 0"; Junior

Philip Torresani: 125; 5' 3"; Junior

Josh Paisley: 133/141; 5' 5"; Freshman

Dayne Ross: 174/184; 6' 0"; Freshman

Eric Eckstein: 285; 5' 10"; Senior

Rocco Hladney: 197; 5' 11"; Senior

Chris Kummerer: 157/165; 5' 7"; Senior

Players Mentioned

Eric Eckstein
: 5' 10"; Junior
: 285

Rocco Hladney
: 5' 11"; Junior
: 184

Chris Kummerer
: 5' 7"; Junior
: 157

Quinn Ruble
: 6' 0"; Junior
: 174/197

Philip Torresani
: 5' 3"; Junior
: 125

Josh Paisley
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: 133/141

Dayne Ross
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: 174/184

Eric Eckstein
: 5' 10"; Senior
: 285

Rocco Hladney
: 5' 11"; Senior
: 197

Chris Kummerer
: 5' 7"; Senior
: 157/165