GRANTHAM, PA. – Cortland, ranked eighth nationally in Div. III, finished first out of 12 schools at the two-day Messiah College Petrofes Invitational. The Red Dragons scored 165.5 points to win the tournament, which featured five ranked schools. Wilkes, ranked 11th, placed second with 159.5 points, followed by 30th-ranked Springfield (131), 21st-ranked Messiah (128) and 10th-ranked Mt. Union (118.5) in the top five.

Freshman Nigel McNeil (Huntington Station/Huntington) and junior Jared Myhrberg (Queensbury) each won weight-class titles. McNeil, ranked fifth in the country at 125 pounds, rolled through his five matches as the top seed. He opened with 16-0 and 15-0 technical falls, followed by a 12-3 major decision. He pinned the fourth seed in the semifinals in 1:55 and the sixth seed in the finals in 1:51. McNeil improved to 15-2 on the season.

Myhrberg, ranked fifth nationally at 197 pounds, also posted a 5-0 record and remains unbeaten this season at 15-0. He started with an 18-4 major decision and a 4-1 victory, then beat the eighth seed by a 1-0 count. Myhrberg earned a 4-0 semifinal win over 10th-ranked Connor McNamara of Ursinus and pinned the third seed in the finals in 1:31.

Junior Andre Berry (Uniondale) finished second at 149 pounds and freshman Lou Puca (Huntington) placed second at 174 pounds. Sophomore Brian Bistis (Whitehouse Station, NJ/Hunterdon Central) was third at 141 pounds, junior Jonathan Conroy (South Plainfield, NJ) finished third at 165 pounds, junior Will Parks (Shoreham/Longwood) was third at 184 pounds and senior Carl Korpi (Miller Place) placed third at 197 pounds.

Berry, seeded third at 149, won his first three matches by technical fall, decision and major decision. He posted an 8-5 win in the semifinals over the second seed and lost to top seeded and nationally fourth-ranked Anthony Dattolo of Wilkes in the finals, 4-2. Puca, the third seed at 174, advanced to the finals with three wins, including a major decision, but lost by injury default in the championship match.

Bistis posted a 5-1 record as the fifth seed at 141. He opened with two major decisions and a 6-1 win over nationally 10th-ranked Ryan Wilson of Wilkes. Bistis lost to nationally seventh-ranked Josh Malave of Mt. Union, 5-2, in the semifinals, but won twice in the wrestlebacks, including a 4-3 decision over nationally ninth-ranked Paul Marcello of Johns Hopkins.

Conroy's 5-1 record as the fifth seed at 165 featured a pin versus the fourth seed in 1:02. His only setback came to the top seed from Gettysburg in the semifinals. Parks, seeded third at 184, won five of his six matches. He opened with three wins before losing to the second seed from Messiah in the semifinals. Korpi, seeded second behind Myhrberg at 197, finished 4-1. He won his first two matches, lost to the third seed by a 3-2 count in the semifinals and won twice in the wrestlebacks.

In all, 12 Red Dragons placed in the top eight of their weights. In addition to the two champions, two runners-up and four third-place finishers, Cortland also boasted freshman Joey Giaramita (Elwood/John H. Glenn) in fourth place and nationally seventh-ranked junior Corey James (Kingston) in sixth place at 285 pounds, junior Sean Kempf (Wantagh/MacArthur) in fifth place at 133 pounds and junior Justin Signorelli (Clintondale/Highland) in seventh place at 165 pounds.

Giaramita entered as the eighth seed at 285. After an opening pin, he lost in overtime to nationally top-ranked Derick Hesson of Mt. Union in the second round, 6-4. Giaramita won the next three matches, including a 3-1 win over second-seeded James, before losing in the third-place match. James won his first three matches but lost in the semifinals to the sixth seed and to Giaramita in the wrestlebacks. Kempf finished 5-2 as the fourth seed at 133 and Signorelli went 4-2 as an unseeded entry at 165.

FINAL TEAM SCORES:

1) Cortland (CORT) – 165.5
2) Wilkes (WILK) – 159.5
3) Springfield (SPR) – 131
4) Messiah (MESS) – 128
5) Mt. Union (MTU) – 118.5
6) McDaniel (MCD) – 89
7) Johns Hopkins (JH) – 63
8) Bridgewater St. (BW) – 58.5
9) Ursinus (URS) – 55
10) Lycoming (LYC) – 53
11) Gettysburg (GETTY) – 52.5
12) Muhlenberg (MUHL) - 6


Complete Brackets (PDF)


Cortland Match Results

125 pounds

(#1 seed) Nigel McNeil (5-0) (1st place)
tech. fall Edward Exler (LYC), 4:44 (16-0)
tech. fall Daniel Palmer (BW), 2:50 (15-0)
major dec. Ray Yagloski (JH), 12-3
Semis: pinned #4 Abe Evans (GETTY), 1:55
Finals: pinned #6 Mike O'Boyle (MCD), 1:51

Paul Fields (1-2)
lost to #6 Mike O'Boyle (MCD), Pin 2:30
pinned Brett Reed (BW), 6:39
lost to #5 Michael Fleck (WILK), tech. fall 3:53 (16-0)

133 pounds

(#4 seed) Sean Kempf (5-2) (5th place)
dec. Griff Panicucci (WILK), 7-6
dec. Jesse Sgaglione (SPR), 8-2
lost to Mike Tancredi (MCD), 5-3
dec. Derek Adams (SPR), 4-3
dec. #5 Matt Spano (GETTY), 5-4
lost to #2 Kaleb Loht (MESS), 4-2
5th place: pinned #6 Alex Banks (URS), 0:44

Jared Lemke (1-2)
pinned Matt Gusick (MESS), 2:00
lost to #6 Alex Blank (URS), 9-0
lost to #5 Matt Spano (GETTY), Pin 2:30

Alex Bossert (0-2)
lost to #1 Riki Reynolds (MTU), 9-4
lost to Adam Stevens (JH), 7-6

141 pounds

(#5 seed) Brian Bistis (5-1) (3rd place)
major dec. Tim Reynolds (MTU), 11-0
major dec. Trey Daubert (URS), 10-0
dec. #4 Ryan Wilson (WILK), 6-1
Semis: lost to #1 Josh Malave (MTU), 5-2
dec. #3 Paul Marcello (JH), 4-3
3rd place: dec. #6 Victor Bracey (MESS), 15-9

Adam Hulett (3-2)
pinned Jesse Alfireo (URS), 1:37
lost to #2 Joseph Grippi (SPR), tech. fall 6:00 (17-2)
pinned Corey Kozimor (SPR), 3:49
dec. Terrell Nixon (LYC), 6-5
lost to #4 Ryan Wilson (WILK), 11-9

Edwin Perry (1-0)
pinned Elisha Gaylor (URS), 0:43
(medically forfeited next two matches)

149 pounds

(#3 seed) Andre Berry (4-1) (2nd place)
tech. fall Al Caserta (MTU), 2:55 (16-0)
dec. Joe Ortiz (SPR), 1-0
major dec. Mason Goretsas (MCD), 9-0
Semis: dec. #2 Kevin Shadrach (MTU), 8-5
Finals: lost to #1 Anthony Dattolo (WILK), 4-2

157 pounds

Adam Willman (2-2)
lost to #5 Davin Okerblom (MESS), 4-1
pinned JP Geary (BW), 2:15
pinned Joe Fiore (GETTY), 2:05
lost to Jovan Rivera (SPR), Pin 4:37

Brandon Guthrie (0-2)
lost to #1 Ryan McGilvray (SPR), Pin 4:11
lost to Josh Moore (MCD), 1-0

Brian Vutianitis (0-2)
lost to #2 Brent Lowe (MCD), 5-0
lost to Devin Biscaha (SPR), 12-3

165 pounds

(#5 seed) Jonathan Conroy (5-1) (3rd place)
dec. Joseph Gowen (JH), 8-4
dec. Nick Hendershot (MTU), 10-3
pinned #4 Benjamin Marich (WILK), 1:02
Semis: lost to #1 Zach Thomson (GETTY), Pin 2:35
dec. #6 Nathan White (WILK), 5-3
3rd place: dec. Ben Kramer (MESS), 11-5

Justin Signorelli (4-2) (7th place)
lost to #8 John Piechuta (MTU), 5-4
dec. #7 James Ondris (CORT), 7-5
dec. Brandon Dixon (WILK), 9-3
dec. #4 Benjamin Marich (WILK), 9-5
lost to Ben Kramer (MESS), Pin 4:01
7th place: major dec. Steve Cannon (MESS), 8-0

(#7 seed) James Ondris (1-2)
dec. Torin Lehmann (MCD), 7-3
lost to Jake English (MESS), 8-6
lost to Justin Signorelli (CORT), 7-5

174 pounds

(#3 seed) Lou Puca (3-1) (2nd place)
won by medical forfeit vs. Chase Martino (WILK)
major dec. #6 Craig Hogan (MESS), 9-0
Semis: dec. #2 Michael Fish (SPR), 4-0
Finals: lost to #1 Matt Cross (MESS), injury default

184 pounds

(#3 seed) Will Parks (5-1) (3rd place)
dec. Wendell Christian (MTU), 7-1
dec. Mike Kevlin (URS), 4-2
dec. #6 William Gouger (WILK), 4-2
Semis: lost to #2 Tim Stewart (MESS), Pin 6:27
dec. #5 Nicholas Camera (SPR), 4-2
3rd place: dec. Daniel Manganaro (URS), 6-5

Vinnie Buttice (1-2)
lost to Evan Johnson (JH), 3-2
dec. #8 Mike McGrath (CORT), 4-3
lost to Seth Gray (WILK), Pin 4:20

(#8 seed) Mike McGrath (0-2)
lost to Michael Williams (URS), 3-1 (ot, sv-1)
lost to Vinnie Buttice (CORT), 4-3

Joe Shell (0-0)
medically forfeited both of his matches

197 pounds

(#1 seed) Jared Myhrberg (5-0) (1st place)
major dec. Darin Lyles (MTU), 18-4
dec. Jeff Brodeur (SPR), 4-1
dec. #8 David Oberrender (WILK), 1-0
Semis: dec. #4 Connor McNamara (URS), 4-0
Finals: pinned #3 TJ Valley (BW), 1:31

(#2 seed) Carl Korpi (4-1) (3rd place)
pinned Lucas Homeijer (WILK), 6:00
dec. #7 Charles Jones (MESS), 5-1
Semis: lost to #3 TJ Vallee (BW), 3-2
dec. #8 David Oberrender (WILK), 6-2
3rd place: dec. #6 Russ Korbul (LYCO), 3-1

Chris Brown (1-2)
lost to #6 Russ Korbul (LYCO), 10-1
dec. Kyle Stauffer (JH), 4-0
lost to #8 David Oberrender (WILK), Pin 6:40

285 pounds

(#8 seed) Joey Giaramita (4-2) (4th place)
pinned Kevin Poplaski (GETT), 5:16
lost to #1 Derick Hesson (MTU), 6-4 (ot, sv-1)
dec. Evan Canady (MESS), 7-3
dec. #5 John Gabordi (SPR), 7-3
dec. #2 Corey James (CORT), 3-1
3rd place: lost to #4 Joe Camlin (MCD), Pin 0:41

(#2 seed) Corey James (3-2) (6th place)
dec. Jonathan Slack (WILK), 5-3
dec. Josh Roberts (MTU), 6-5 (ot, tb-2)
dec. #7 William Cornely (URS), 3-3 (ot, RT; tb-2)
Semis: lost to #6 Nick Terifai (MTU), 8-0
lost to #8 Joey Giaramita (CORT), 3-1
(medically forfeited 5th place match)