The Case Western Reserve University wrestling team ended the 2022 portion of its schedule with the RIT Invitational at the Gordon Field House in Rochester, New York on Saturday.
Three wrestlers placed in their weight classes, led by a third place finish from senior Mitchell Arch at 157 pounds. First-year E.J. Alizio placed fifth at 125 pounds and first-year Art Martinez placed sixth at 141 pounds. Overall, CWRU placed ninth at the meet with 74.5 points.
Arch had a team-high three pins in six matches, compiling a record of 5-1 in the 157 pound bracket. He started his day with a pin in 1:31 over Andrew Maiorini of Wesleyan (Conn.) and followed with a 56 second pin over Cullen Van Rooyen of Penn College. In the quarterfinal, Arch defeated sophomore teammate Calvin Cai by major decision (12-4). After falling in the semifinal by a 9-5 decision, he pinned Nico Patch of Trinity (Conn.) in 1:51 and prevailed in the third place match. The three pins increase Arch's season total to seven and his career total to 49.
Alizio went 4-2 with two pins and a technical fall to earn 16.5 points for the Spartans. He reached the semifinal with two consecutive pins, defeating Michael Sandacz of Penn College in 3:22 and Mason Drew of Alfred State in 5:45, and a 15-0 technical fall over John Freebern of RIT. It was his first career technical fall and the second and third pins for him this season. After falling to the fifth place match, Alizio defeated St. John Fisher's Dominick Diedrick to finish fifth.
Martinez went 5-1 in the 141 pound bracket before reaching the six-match limit for the tournament. He earned major decision wins over Aiden Hebert (Trinity (Conn.)) and Clay Rankin (RIT) before finishing the day with a dramatic 4-2 sudden victory-1 win over Josh Post from RIT.
First-year Thomas Wagner, competing in the 149 pound bracket, also reached the match limit with a 5-1 record, recording two pins and a technical fall for the Spartans. After losing his first match 9-6, Wagner rebounded by winning his final five, starting with a 1:00 pin over Josh Sam of RIT. He continued with a 18-2 technical fall win and a 15-1 major decision win before pinning Cael Finn of Trinity (Conn.) in 4:51. Wagner ended the tournament with a 7-1 win over Colin Jens from Penn College. Wagner owns the team lead with eight pins and two technical falls this season.
Picking up four wins at 165 pounds was first-year John Conover, who went 4-2 with a pin. He opened the tournament by defeating Matt Posego of Penn State Behrend by fall in 5:53, his third pin of the season.
Senior Alex Torres, competing at 184 pounds, went 3-2 with all three wins coming by fall. He started with a 1:21 win in the first round, rebounded from a loss with a 4:25 win in the second consolation round, and followed with a 1:27 win in the third consolation round. Torres increased his pin total to four this season with the three falls. Wrestling in the 157 pound bracket, sophomore Calvin Cai also went 3-2, recording a win by fall and one by technical fall. He defeated James Ost of RIT in 1:09 to earn his third pin of the season.
A pair of CWRU wrestlers finished the day with 2-2 records while collecting their first collegiate pins. First-year Calvin Rowan split four matches at 149 pounds, pinning Willy Kraus of RIT in 2:33, and first-year Garrett Brown, competing at 157 pounds, went 2-2 and pinned Farhid Negahban from Pitt.-Bradford in 6:42.
Three Spartans—junior William Kerr, first-year Thomas Bentivoglio, and first-year Dominic Roberts—each picked up their first collegiate wins at the invitational, with Roberts earning his first collegiate pin in 2:08.
Following a break for finals, the Spartans will resume competition in 2023 with a pair of duals in Ada, Ohio on Saturday, January 7, facing Ohio Northern and Manchester.
