Columbia
Nittany Lion Open
Five Columbia Wrestlers Place At 2011 Nittany Lion Open
12/4/2011 8:46:00 PM | Wrestling
Final Bracket | ON THE PHONE VIDEO: Fronhofer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Five Columbia wrestlers placed at Sunday's 2011 Nittany Lion Open as the Lions continue to get better with match they compete in.
Kyle Gilchrist led the way with a third-place showing in the 133-pound class. Steve Santos had strong showing for the second straight event, taking fourth place in the 149-pound class. Adam Fondale battled back from a slow start, but went 5-2 en route to a seventh-place finish at 165. Stephen West also bounced back from an early loss to finish sixth at 174. Kevin Lester took sixth place in the heavyweight division after battling back from an early loss.
Eren Civan, who is sitting this semester out for Columbia and wrestled unattached, placed sixth at 165.
133 - Kyle Gilchrist took third place in the 133-pound class. Gilchrist went 3-1 and opened his day with a 2-1 win over Clarion's Joe Waltko and a 7-4 victory over Boston University's Brian Suitor. After Penn State's Derek Reber took a cautionary medical forfeit, Gilchrist advanced to the semifinals where he lost to No. 7 Devin Carter of Virginia Tech, 8-5. He bounced back in the third-place match, taking a 9-3 decision over Zach Horan of Central Michigan.
149 - Santos went 4-2 on the day, pinning Clarion's Chris Cancelliere in 4:41 in his first match before defeating Virginia Tech's Lex Ozias, 3-1, in sudden victory. After beating Penn State's Seth Beitz, 6-2, Santos had a convincing 8-1 win over Pittsburgh's Josh Pascazi in the quarterfinals. He fell to eventual champion and No. 1-ranked Frank Molinaro of Penn State in the semis in an 8-0 major decision. In the third-place match, Santos lost to Penn State's Andrew Alton, 9-5.
165 - After defeating unattached Rex Lutz of Penn State, 4-0, Fondale fell out of the winner's bracket following a 4-1 loss to unattached John Michael Staudenmayer of North Carolina. He bounced back with a pin of unattached Eric Beverly of Maryland I 4:45, Fondale took a 3-2 win over Kyle Czarnecki of Boston University, an 8-1 victory over North Carolina State's Steven Ramos and a 4-3 win over unattached Nicholas Visicaro of Rutgers. He fell to Civan, 8-4. Fondale closed his day with a 14-2 major decision over North Carolina State's Nijel Jones.
Civan enjoyed a strong showing wrestling unattached, going 5-2 on Sunday with three pins on the day. He opened with a pin of unattached Austin Clark of Pennsylvania College in 1:46, a pin of Ramos of NC State in 3:46 and a 3-1 sudden victory over unattached Clay Wenger of Kent State.
174 - After No. 2 Edward Ruth of Penn State pinned West in 2:49 in his first match, West defeated Marcus Johnson of Old Dominion, 3-1, before a 13-6 victory over Patrick Tasser of Pittsburgh. West took a 6-1 victory over Stephen McPeek of Bucknell, a 4-3 win over Maryland's Corey Peltier and a 7-5 win over Navy's James Mannier to earn a spot in the fifth-place match. He gave a default victory to Penn State's Matthew Brown.
Heavyweight - Boston University's Kevin Innis defeated Lester 10-4 to take him out of the winner's bracket. Lester responded with a 5-2 win over American's Blake Herrin, a 9-2 win over unattached Bobby LaVelle of Virginia Tech, a 4:05 pin of teammate Wyatt Baker, a 13-9 victory over Virginia Tech's Chris Penny and a 1:39 pin of Michigan State's Joseph Rizqallah to earn a spot in the fifth-place match. Penn State's Jonathan Gingrich defeated Lester, 2-0, in the fifth-place match.
The Lions' next event is Dec. 29 at the Mat Town USA Invitational in Lock Haven, Pa.
Players Mentioned
