swanson places eighth at petrofes

Junior Keith Swanson of the Muhlenberg wrestling team went 3-3 to place eighth at 157 pounds at the Messiah Petrofes Invitational.

Swanson (left) scored a major decision and a pin before dropping a tight 4-3 bout to the second-seeded wrestler in the quarterfinals. In his opening bout, against a Johns Hopkins opponent, he scored three first-period takedowns and later added two more takedowns, two near-falls and a reversal en route to a 17-6 major decision. Swanson won his first consolation bout against a wrestler from Wilkes to ensure that he would earn a place, but then dropped his next two bouts.

Four other Mule wrestlers won at least one bout at the tourney. Sophomore John Sternlicht, unseeded at 174, toppled the eighth seed with a 2-1 decision in the second round. In his first bout, he scored with a pin 34 seconds into the second period after his opponent chose the down position.

Freshman Matt Parker was impressive in his first career win, scoring a pin against a Springfield opponent.

Muhlenberg finished 12th out of 13 teams in the team standings.
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