By Maximillian C. Burgos
Correspondent
The wrestling team traveled last weekend to Wilkes University on Friday, Feb. 3, and then to the Messiah College Open on Saturday, Feb. 4. The Lions ultimately fell to the Wilkes University Colonels, and the team’s record fell, 11-12.
Some standouts from this weekend are sophomore Ryan Erwin, who took fifth place at the Messiah College open, followed by junior Kyle Cocozza who finished third place at the Messiah College open.
Cocozza also won his match at the Wilkes University dual, along with senior Nick Herring, freshman Dan Kilroy, who won his match at the dual, and senior Pat Schinder.
Other noteworthy mentions include senior Sigala Fosam, who took seventh place at the Messiah College Open, freshman Marcus Sherrod, sophomore Kyle McIntyre and freshman Sean Tonry who also garnered places.
The Lions fell 27-16 to Wilkes University on Friday night. They won four of their 10 bouts, struggling early in the match. Herring posted the first Lions win of the night at 165, and Kilroy followed that up with a major decision, 11-0 at the 174. Kilroy’s win shortened the Lions deficit, 12-7.
Following a technical fall at 184, the Lions rebounded and won two straight bouts. Schinder won by decision, 5-4, and Cocozza won by a pin in two minutes and 22 seconds. The rest of the night didn’t go as planned for the Lions, but they came out strong the next morning.
Cocozza’s third in the heavyweight class was the highest place for the Lions at the Messiah College Open on Saturday. Cocozza managed to go 4-1 on the day, en route to the bronze. Erwin took fifth place at the 141 weight class, ending the day at 3-2.
Fosam took seventh in the heavyweight bracket, though he had to fight his way through four-straight matches in the consolation bracket to earn his seventh place finish, ending the day 5-2. Other notables include Sherrod, earning eighth place at the 157 weight class, McIntyre, taking eighth place at 165 and Tonry, seizing eighth place at 184.
Overall, it was a tough weekend for the Lions, but they are confident heading to this weekend’s matches. The Lions travel to Doylestown, Pa., on Friday, Feb. 10, to wrestle Delaware Valley University. The match is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
The Lions also have a home match on Saturday, Feb. 11, against Messiah College. The Falcons are 15-3 in dual meets. They are coming off a flurry of recent victories and two first-place rankings in recent tournaments. The match is scheduled to start at noon.
