Presidents Open 2011-12 Season In Sixth Place At Monarch Invitational
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. -- Three Washington & Jefferson College wrestlers claimed third place to help the Presidents earn a sixth-place team finish Saturday at the season-opening King's College Monarch Invitational.
Wilkes won the team title in the 13-squad field with 146.5 points, while York (Pa.) was second with 117. SUNY-Cortland placed third with 95.5 followed by Oneonta State (91), Roger Williams (78), W&J (76), King's (75.5), Gettysburg (67), Hunter (65), Western New England (64.5) RIT (61.5), Scranton (22.5) and Muhlenberg (19.5).
The tournament marked the debut at W&J for Head Coach Tommy Prairie.
Senior Zach Cecchetti (Freeport, Pa./Kiski Area) and sophomores Josh Etzel (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth-Forward) and David Dibenedetto (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) all recorded third-place showings.
Cecchetti was the No. 3 seed in the 133-pound bracket and posted a 5-1 record, including a pair of falls. He was 1-1 in the championship bracket and notched third place by edging fifth-seeded Charles Klatz of York 5-4 in the third-place bout. Cecchetti now has 70 careers victories, tying Jayson Hobbs '00 for 10th place on the school's all-time win list.
Etzel was the No. 2 seed in the 141-pound bracket and advanced to the semifinals before falling to eventual champion, Ryan Wilson of Wilkes, by a 5-2 margin. Etzel knocked off Christian Dluginski of Oneonta State in the third-place match 4-3.
In the 165-pound bracket, the unseeded Dibenedetto also advanced to the semifinals, but dropped a tough 1-0 decision to second-seeded Nathan White of Wilkes. Dibenedetto posted one fall in the consolation bracket and then topped Tori Cain of RIT 9-6 in the third-place match.
Senior heavyweight Taylor Potts (Moundsville, W.Va./John Marshall) was the Presidents' only other placewinner after claiming fourth. He opened as the No. 2 seed and recorded two victories in the championship bracket before falling to Oneonta State's Michael Almaviva 4-3 in overtime in the semifinals. George Saliba of York defeated Potts 7-3 in the third-place match.
W&J opens its home schedule Friday night with a dual match against Manchester (7:00 pm).
