Brackets
GRANTHAM, Pa. – Senior Isaiah Britton (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock) finished in second place to lead a contingent of five Lycoming College wrestlers that placed at the Petrofes Invitational hosted by Messiah College on Saturday, Dec. 4. The five wrestlers helped the Warriors move from seventh to finish in a tie for fifth at the invitational, as 21st-ranked Wilkes earned the team title.
The Warriors finished tied with McDaniel for fifth-place with 84 points behind five ranked teams, as No. 29 Mount Union took second (147), No. 27 Messiah took third (134) and No. 25 Springfield (Mass.) took fourth (127).
Britton advanced to the finals as the tournament’s No. 2 seed at 149 pounds, winning four matches en route to the championship. He posted a 10-0 major decision over McDaniel’s Sean McGarry and added an 11-3 major decision over Oneonta’s Matt Eberlein to reach the quarterfinals. He downed seventh-seeded Steve Flathers of Springfield, 9-6 and added a 15-2 major decision against Messiah’s No. 6 seed, Logan Putnam in the semifinals.
In the finals, with the score 3-2 in the third period, Britton got in deep on a shot on Wilkes’ Anthony Dattolo, ranked ninth in the latest D3Wrestle.com poll, but Dattolo regained control and got the takedown to take the 5-2 win. Dattolo was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.
Junior Kyle Crouthamel (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) took third at 197 pounds, beating junior teammate Russ Korbel (Asbury, N.J./Northhampton C.C.), 3-0, in the semifinals match.
Crouthamel and Korbul each made it to the semifinals at 197 pounds, with Crouthamel, the No. 7 seed posting a 6-0 decision over Wilkes’ Daniel Brown in the opening round and a pin of No. 2 seed Jordan Yost of Washington & Lee at the 5:47 mark of his quarterfinals match. However, in the semifinals, he fell to No. 3 seed Reid Mosquera of Johns Hopkins, 7-3.
Korbul reached the semifinals as the No. 4 seed, posting a 7-0 win over Wilkes’ Jake Weinrich in the first round before beating fifth-seeded William Yeo of McDaniel, 8-4, in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Mount Union’s Bill Schindel posted a 10-1 win over Korbul.
Both wrestlers rebounded in the wrestlebacks, though, with Crouthamel defeating Yeo, 5-2, and Korbul posting a 10-3 win over Messiah’s Tim Hopkins to set up the third-place match between the Warriors.
Senior Troy Hayre (Falls Church, Va./McLean) added a third-place finish at 184 pounds. The No. 3 seed at the tournament, Hayre pinned McDaniel’s Christopher Erps in 3:15 in the first round before falling to sixth-seeded Timothy Stewart, 7-2, in the quarterfinals.
Hayre had a nice run through the wrestlebacks, though, winning five matches, starting with a 7-0 decision against Gettysburg’s D.J. Neri. Hayre added a pin in 45 seconds against Bridgewater State’s Mike Fenner to guarantee a place at the tournament.
On Saturday, he posted a 13-3 major decision against Oneonta’s Chad Obzud and a 6-2 win over Stewart to advance to the third-place match, where he posted a takedown in the first sudden-victory period against No. 1 seed Nate Murren of Ursinus, ranked sixth in the latest D3Wrestle.com rankings.
Junior Stephen Hinton (Montclair, Va./Forest Park) took fourth in the 125-pound weight class, as he also posted a solid 5-2 record at the tournament. Hinton opened the tournament with a 3-1 loss to Johns Hopkins’ Ray Yagloski, but he responded with a solid run through the wrestlebacks, starting with a pin of Bridgewater State’s Daniel Palmer in 2:25. He added an 8-3 win over Gettysburg’s Matt Spano and a 6-2 win over Springfield College’s No. 7 seed, Jesse Sgaglione to ensure a place at the tournament.
On Saturday, he notched a 7-4 win over Springfield’s Tom Casper and notched a 3-2 win over Yagloski to reach the third-place match, where he fell to Messiah’s Spencer Alexander.
The Warriors get back in action on Dec. 10 when they take the trip to Brockport, N.Y., for a 7 p.m. clash with the 15th-ranked College at Brockport.
