WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Columbia wrestling team had a nice showing at the Black Knight Invite Sunday as seven Lions finished on the podium and Columbia finished in fourth place as a team.
 
Columbia competed against some of the nation's top talent Sunday as Penn State, Army, Michigan State and Rutgers sent wrestlers to West Point in addition to a few other programs. Richard Fedalen (149), Boris Witmer (133), Cesar Alvan (165), Sulayman Bah (125), Jack McGill (174), Jaden Le (157) and Vincent Mueller (285) all battled to earn spots on the podium at the end of the day.
 
The Lions performed at a high level as a team with 68 total points, finishing in fourth place behind Penn State, Army and Michigan State.
 
"The last two weeks have been a great stretch for our entire program," Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling Donny Pritzlaff said. "The feedback has been helpful and we are making tremendous progress. Our level of belief and intensity is rising each time we take the mat. Our staff is excited to prepare the team for our upcoming challenge at the CKLV in Vegas."
 
Fedalen and Witmer both made runs to the semifinal match of their weight divisions before losing and moving into the third-place match. Witmer finished fourth after having to use a medical forfeit. Fedalen topped Michael Cetta (Rutgers) in a 7-2 decision to secure third place at 149 pounds in the highlight of the day for the Lions.
 
Alvan and Bah each finished in fifth place in their brackets. McGill, Le and Mueller all posted sixth-place finishes.
 
Alvan fell in a tight decision loss to Anthony White (Rutgers) in the 165 quarterfinals. Alvan then earned three straight wins in consolation that culminated in a 5-2 decision over Carter Baer (Binghamton) to lock in the fifth-place finish. Bah faced a similar path as he lost his quarterfinal match in the 125 bracket. Bah took a bye in consolation and used two wins to finish in fifth.
 
McGill and Mueller both lost their first matches of the day before rebounding in the consolation bracket. Le advanced to the 157 quarterfinals before losing and moving into consolation. McGill, Mueller and Le all advanced to the fifth-place match for their weights, but were defeated.
 
Full results from the Black Knight Invite can be found on the FloArena website by clicking HERE.
 
UP NEXT
The Lions head to Las Vegas for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite starting on Friday, December 6. Columbia will then return home to host Hofstra for a dual on Saturday, December 21 in the final competition before 2025.
 
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