wrestlers solid at petrofes invitational

The Muhlenberg wrestling team finished the first part of its schedule with some excellent competition in preparation for the second.

The Mules, who have off

Fitch matched the best previous finish of his career; he also was third at the Washington and Lee Invitational last year.

until January 5, placed eight wrestlers in finishing sixth out of 13 teams at the Messiah Petrofes Invitational. The top three teams in the standings – Heidelberg, Cortland State and Brockport State – are all ranked in the top 15 in Division III. With 96 team points, Muhlenberg was closer to Brockport State (128.5) than it was to seventh-place Johns Hopkins (57).

’Berg wrestlers combined for seven wins against higher-seeded opponents, three by junior Justin Fitch at 174. Fitch posted two wins against Josh Wake of Oneonta State, who is ranked ninth in Division III and was seeded third in the tournament. The second win came in overtime the consolation final, earning Fitch a third-place finish. He also picked up an overtime win against a Messiah wrestler to whom he had lost in the consolation final at the King’s Monarch Invitational.

A pair of unseeded freshmen were impressive, knocking off two seeded foes. At 133, Keith Swanson scored one-point decisions against the sixth and eighth seeds in the consolation bracket after dropping a close three-point bout to the third seed. Swanson forfeited out of the competition for medical reasons and finished eighth.

Bill Sholly, making his debut for the Mules, advanced to the 197-pound consolation final with wins against the fifth and sixth seeds. He lost in the consolation final to place fourth.

Junior Billy Hall posted Muhlenberg’s best finish of the two-day tournament, coming in second at 141. The top seed and defending champion, Hall won three decisions before suffering a 4-3 loss to the second seed in the championship bout.

Although he was defeated for the first time this season, junior Matt Horn went 4-2 to place fifth at 184. He dropped a 4-2 decision to a Washington & Lee wrestler in the second round, but came back to beat the same opponent in the fifth-place match.

Senior heavyweight Joe Tartar also won his fifth-place match. Rounding out the Mules’ placewinners were junior Rob Kein (sixth at 149) and sophomore Tucker Grass (sixth at 125).
Click here for Muhlenberg box score.
Click here for complete results.