Four W&J Wrestlers Earn Preseason Rankings
WASHINGTON, Pa. – Four Washington & Jefferson College wrestlers earned honorable-mention recognition in D3wrestle.com’s 2011-12 preseason rankings released.
Senior Zach Cecchetti (Freeport, Pa./Kiski Area) earned the honor in the 125-pound weight class, while junior Robbie Mies (Boonsboro, Md./Williamsport) was named at 197. Sophomores Josh Etzel (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) and David Dibenedetto (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) also earned laurels at 141 and 165 pounds, respectively.
Cecchetti sits in 12th place on the all-time wins list at W&J, having won 65 matches during his first three seasons. He won 14 of his 23 matches last season during an injury-plagued year.
Dibenedetto recorded a team-high 24 victories for the Presidents last season. He earned seven falls, good for third on the team.
Etzel finished second at the 2011 NCAA Division III Midwest Regional and was named to the D3wrestle.com All-Freshman team a season ago. Etzel won seven of his eight matches after joining the team midway through the year.
Mies, who is not expected to begin wrestling this season until January, is the two-time defending Presidents’ Athletic Conference champion at 197 pounds. He is the 22nd wrestler in W&J history to own two conference titles and is just one fall short of tying Ed Morasczyk ‘75 for sixth place in W&J history at 25.
W&J opens its season on Saturday at the King’s Monarch Invitational beginning at 9:30 am.
