MECHANICSBURG, PA. – J.C. Cardenas (Brooklyn/Grand Street Campus), Demitreus Henry (Brooklyn/Grand Street Campus) and Brian Torres (Brooklyn/Grand Street Campus) won weight-class titles and four others Cortland wrestlers placed in the top eight Friday and Saturday at the Messiah College's Petrofes Invitational. Cardenas, the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler, won the 133-pound title with a 4-0 record. Henry went 5-0 to win at 174 pounds and Torres was 5-0 to win at 184 pounds.

Cortland finished fifth out of 17 schools in the final team standings. The top six places were relatively tight, with Muhlenberg taking the title at 147.5 points, followed by Messiah (138), Mount Union (137.5), Alvernia (135.5), Cortland (132) and McDaniel (125.5).

The Red Dragons' placewinners, in addition to their three champions, were Chandler Merwin (Walton) in third place at 157 pounds, Ben Klei (Victor) in fifth place at 285 pounds, Cody Merwin (Walton) in sixth place at 125 pounds, and Steven Gazzillo (New Windsor/Cornwall) in seventh place at 165 pounds.

Cardenas won two of his four matches by pin, including one in the semifinals. He defeated Mount Union's David Massey, 5-2, in the finals. Henry's 5-0 record at 174 started with a major decision and a pin, followed by three decisions. He edged Bridgewater State's Fox Maxwell, 4-3, in the finals. Torres won all five of his matches by decision, capped by a 6-3 win over Mount Union's George Lassnick in the championship bout.

Chandler Merwin posted a 5-1 record at 157 pounds. He started with two pins and a major decision before losing, 2-1, in the semifinals. He bounced back to win the next match and earned a 2-0 decision versus Alvernia's Robert Lawlor in the third-place match. Klei was 5-2 at 285 pounds. After losing his first match, he came back to win four straight, one by pin, before another loss. He won by medical forfeit in the fifth-place match. Cody Merwin was 3-3 at 125 pounds. He pinned his first two opponents and won his next match to reach the semifinals. After a 9-8 loss in that match, he dropped a pair of decisions in the consolation bracket to finish sixth. Gazzillo was 3-2 at 165 pounds, with all three of his victories coming by pin. The last of those was versus Deontae Frederick of McDaniel in the seventh-place match.

Five other Red Dragons - Justin Amendola (Rocky Point) at 125, Vinnie Santilli (South Glens Falls) and Amos Rivera (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) each at 133, Kyle Klein (Miller Place) at 149, and Bailey Butler (Horseheads) at 165 - each finished the tournament with 2-2 records.

MESSIAH PETROFES INVITATIONAL
Dec. 3-4, 2021; Mechanicsburg, Pa.

FINAL TEAM SCORES:
 
1) Muhlenberg - 147.5 
2) Messiah - 138 
3) Mount Union - 137.5 
4) Alvernia - 135.5 
5) Cortland - 132 
6) McDaniel - 125.5 
7) Alderson Broaddus - 88 
8) Gettysburg - 78 
9) Southern Virginia - 67.5 
10) Bridgewater St. -50 
11) Greensboro - 44 
12) Washington & Jefferson - 39.5 
13) King's (PA) - 38 
14) Shenandoah - 27.5 
15) Waynesburg - 21 
16) Penn. St. Mt. Alto - 17.5 
17) Thaddeus Stevens - 2 
 
Cortland Results:
 
125 pounds
 
Cody Merwin (3-3) (Sixth Place) 
pinned Kyle Miller (King's), 2:02 
pinned Robert Philpot (Alvernia), 3:42 
dec. Joey Lamparelli (Muhlenberg), 13-6 
Semis: lost to Wilson Gomes (Bridgewater St.), 9-8 
lost to Frank DiEsso (Muhlenberg), 17-8 
Fifth Place: lost to Keito Shaw (Alvernia), 9-4 
 
Justin Amendola (2-2) 
pinned Francisco Ramirez (Southern Virginia), 2:16 
lost to Errik Gerback (Mount Union), 4-2 
dec. Bryce Arnold (Messiah), 8-6 
lost to Hunter Rinehart (Messiah), 10-7 
 
Richard Munoz (1-1) 
tech. fall Bryce Arnold (Messiah), 15-0 
lost to Frank DiEsso (Muhlenberg), 8-5 
(medically forfeited next match) 
 
133 pounds
  
J.C. Cardenas (4-0) (First Place) 
pinned Louis LaRocca (Alvernia), 4:51 
dec. Ricky Caamano (Muhlenberg), 8-3 
Semis: pinned Josh Wilson (Greensboro), 4:46 
Finals: dec. David Massey (Mount Union), 5-2 
 
Vinnie Santilli (2-2) 
major dec. Lucas Purpora (Bridgewater St.), 14-5 
pinned Quivon Lester (W&J), 0:34 
lost to Josh Wilson (Greensboro), 11-4 
lost to Chris Barthelemy (Alderson Broaddus), Pin 1:47 
 
Amos Rivera (2-2) 
lost to J. Kowolski (Gettysburg), 13-2 
dec. Seth Fleming (W&J), 8-4 
dec. Mason McCarty (Mount Union), 10-5 
lost to Nick Germano (King's), tech. fall 19-4 
 
Tyler Bisono (0-2) 
lost to Nick Germano (King's), tech. fall 18-0 
lost to Lucas Purpora (Bridgewater St.), 9-4 
 
141 pounds

Ryan Holt (1-2) 
lost to Asa Brunk (Messiah), Pin 4:34 
dec. Mason Casey (Messiah), 4-1 
lost to Jordan Markowski (Mount Union), 8-2 
 
Noah Orser (0-2) 
lost to Quinn Tobin (Alvernia), tech. fall 16-0 
lost to Hunter Locke (Shenandoah), Pin 1:34

149 pounds
 
Kyle Klein (2-2) 
pinned Jaden Williams (Greensboro), 2:27 
lost to Camerin Deville (Messiah), 5-2 
pinned Reimy Santiago De La Cruz (Thaddeus Stevens), 1:18 
lost to Eli Blackwell (Southern Virginia), 0:41 
 
Markel Browne (1-1) 
dec. Eli Blackwell (Southern Virginia), 10-4 
lost to Eric Mougalian (Gettysburg), injury default 
(medically forfeited next match) 
 
Dylan Howell (0-2) 
lost to Kevin Rainey (Alvernia), Pin 0:21 
lost to Jeovannie Martinez (McDaniel), 15-5 
 
157 pounds
 
Chandler Merwin (5-1) (Third Place) 
pinned George Vrachnos (Shenandoah), 3:34 
pinned Cameron Leslie (King's), 1:20 
major dec. Riley McHale (Muhlenberg), 10-1 
Semis: lost to Nick Barnhart (Messiah), 2-1 
dec. Anson Dewar (Muhlenberg), 13-6 
Third Place: dec. Robert Lawlor (Alvernia), 2-0 
 
165 pounds
 
Steven Gazzillo (3-2) (Seventh Place) 
pinned Kevin Carlucci (Bridgewater St.), 2:50 
lost to Alexander LaVeck (McDaniel), Pin 0:37 
pinned Thomas Chenoweth (McDaniel), 4:12 
lost to Hunter Zacerous (Messiah), Pin 6:36 
Seventh Place: pinned Deontae Frederick (McDaniel), 4:43 
 
Bailey Butler (2-2) 
pinned Tristan Reyes-Villa (Greensboro), 4:40 
pinned Christian LaChance (Bridgewater St.), 3:25 
lost to Zach Needles (Messiah), tech. fall 20-1 
lost to Deontae Frederick (McDaniel), Pin 2:24 
 
174 pounds
 
Demitreus Henry (5-0) (First Place) 
major dec. Trevor Carter (Greensboro), 12-3 
pinned Skylar Gross (Gettysburg), 1:13 
dec. Luke Lardarello (Penn St. Mt. Alto), 5-3 
Semis: dec. Michael Bromley (McDaniel), 11-6 
Finals: dec. Fox Maxwell (Bridgewater St.), 4-3 
 
Pat Ross (1-2) 
lost to Dylan Weaver (Shenandoah), 15-8 
dec. Jacob Rallo (Alderson Broaddus), 5-3 
lost to Brailyn Lightner (Mount Union), 9-1 
 
184 pounds 
 
Brian Torres (5-0) (First Place) 
dec. Nick Kostyak (Penn St. Mt. Alto), 9-3 
dec. Jeremias Collazo (Bridgewater St.), 7-1 
dec. Spencer Clements (Messiah), 8-2 
Semis: dec. Mauro Pellot (Alvernia), 3-1 
Finals: dec. George Lassnick (Mount Union), 6-3 
 
Karam Saraireh (1-2) 
lost to Ryan Weitz (Alderson Broaddus), 10-0 
pinned Luis Bones (Penn St. Mt. Alto), 0:43 
lost to William Grace (King's), Pin 1:56 
 
Ryan Newman (0-2) 
lost to Scott Chambers (Southern Virginia), Pin 6:22 
lost to Blake Silber (Gettysburg), 6-5 
 
197 pounds 
 
Chris Bold (0-2) 
lost to Jaedyn Harris (McDaniel), 14-1 
lost to Max Steele (Greensboro), 4-2 (ot) 
 
Roman Jellick (0-2) 
lost to Luca Colestock (Muhlenberg), Pin 1:39 
lost to Brendan Loder (Gettysburg), Pin 0:43 
 
285 pounds 
 
Ben Klei (5-2) (Fifth Place) 
lost to Chase Smith (Alvernia), 11-0 
dec. Harrison Schoen (Thaddeus Stevens), 4-0 
pinned Isaac Mensah (King's), 6:34 
dec. Ramiro Osuna (Muhlenberg), 3-2 
dec. Brandon Williams (Greensboro), 7-0 
lost to Chase Smith (Alvernia), 11-1 
Fifth Place: won by medical forfeit vs. Palmer Rodenhaber (Alvernia)