Results
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – Freshman Nicholas DePierro (Manalapan, N.J./Freehold) and junior Ian Evans (Laurys Station, Pa./Parkland) battled their way to fourth-place finishes to lead The University of Scranton wrestling team at the Monarch Invitational on Saturday at King's College.
DePierro had a pair of pins in the main bracket and picked up a decision in the consolation bracket en route to his fourth-place finish at 125 pounds. He opened the event with a bye, then pinned Wilkes's Dino Cancellieri in 5:00 to reach the quarterfinals where he pinned Cortland State's Mat Bradice in 3:40.
In the semifinals, DePierro couldn't solve the top seed, Michael Fleck of Wilkes, falling by major decision, 15-5. He bounced back to decision Cortland State's Alex D'Angelo, 3-1, in the consolation semifinal. In the third-place match, he fell to Waynesburg's Tristan Buxton, 6-4.
Competing at 157 pounds, Evans also opened with a bye before posting a 6-4 decision over Waynesburg's Nick Kusich to reach the quarters, where he controlled Keith Wanamaker of King's for a 9-1 major decision.
In the semifinal, Evans suffered a tough 1-0 loss to Logan Meister of Ferrum, the no. 2 seed. Evans rebounded to post a 7-0 decision over Carter Merecki of Roger Williams. But in the third-place match, Evans dropped a 6-1 decision to Howard Kilpatrick of King's.
Scranton also received a pair of victories from three different wrestlers. Freshman Kevin Merle (Stroudsburg, Pa./Belvidere) won twice at 174 pounds, posting an opening-round pin in 3:27 over Gettysburg's Robby Tarvin. He also had a consolation win, 11-6, over Ryan Butler of Roger Williams.
Freshman Daniel D'Agostini (Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) had an opening-round bye at 184 pounds before defeating Hunter Devell of Ferrum, 6-1. A quarterfinal loss dropped him into the consolation bracket, where D'Agostini earned a 7-3 decision over Brandon Casamassima of Gettysburg before falling in the consolation semifinal.
Freshman Christopher Spurlock (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) also won twice at 285 pounds. He pinned Patrick Fitzgerald of Penn College in 2:59 before a loss dropped him into the consolation bracket, where he had a 3-1 decision over Alex Millen of Roger Williams before being eliminated.
Scranton also received one victory each from freshman Daniel O'Neill (Flanders, N.J./Mount Olive) at 149 pounds, sophomore Zachary D'Apolito (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley Senior) at 165, and freshman Andrew Gombas (Warren, N.J./Bound Brook) at 174 pounds.
Roger Williams won the team title with 159.5 points, followed by Ferrum (136.5) and Cortland State (124.5). Scranton finished with 50.5 points.
The Royals will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 14, when they return to King's for the New York/Pennsylvania Duals beginning at noon.
--ROYALS--
