Nicholas DePierro	Ian Evans

Results

LEXINGTON, Va. – Junior Nicholas DePierro (Manalapan, N.J./Freehold Township) of The University of Scranton wrestling team was named the most outstanding wrestler after winning the 125-pound title at the Jim Crytzer Invitational at Washington and Lee on Saturday.

Scranton finished fourth in the event behind DePierro's title and a 157-pound title from senior Ian Evans (Laurys Station, Pa./Parkland). The Royals also got a second-place finish from freshman Daniel D'Agostini (Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) at 184 pounds, and a third place from junior Zachary D'Apolito (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley Senior) at 174.

The Royals finished with 89.5 points to finish fourth. John Carroll ran away with the team title with 152 points. Gettysburg was second with 102.5, followed by Washington and Lee (92 points) and Scranton. St. Andrews was fifth (72.5), followed by West Virginia Tech (58), Greensboro College (51.5) and Southern Virginia (13.5).

DePierro was dominant en route to being named the top competitor in the event. He opened as the top seed and received a bye into the quarterfinals, where he pinned West Virginia Tech's Paul Gonzales in 5:49. In the semifinals, DePierro routed Brennan Patton of St. Andrews for an 18-4 technical fall. And in the title match, DePierro shut down the second seed, Lenny Ogozalek, of Gettysburg for a 3-1 victory.

The individual title was the first of his career for DePierro, who finished third at 133 pounds in the same event last season.

Evans was quite good himself, earning his second individual title of the season and the fifth of his career. He also won the 157-pound title in the same event as a sophomore.

Evans was also the top seed and began his day with a 16-1 technical fall over Gettysburg's Tristan Chen. He followed that with an 11-2 major decision against John Carroll's Daniel Novak in the quarterfinals, then posted a 15-3 major decision over John Carroll's Anthony Trocchio in the semifinals. In the title match, Evans posted a 5-2 decision over Washington and Lee's Shane Conners.

D'Agostini was also the top seed at 184 and received a bye into the semifinals in a small field. There, he shut out Jeremiah Royer of Greensboro College, 4-0. But in the title match, he was edged by the second seed, Kevin Khoma of John Carroll, 8-5.

D'Apolito overcame a loss in his opening match to finish third at 174. He four straight wins in the consolation bracket, including two pins, the last of which came in the third-place match against John Carroll's Matthew Ferraro in 2:17.

The Royals also received a pair of fourth-place finishes from senior Salvatore Montuori (Clark, N.J./Arthur L. Johnson) and freshman Keegan Connelly (Schnecksville, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) at 197. 

Montuori won his opening match before being knocked into the consolation bracket, then ran off three straight major decisions to reach the third-place match, where he suffered an 11-6 loss to Aaron Vaughn of St. Andrews. Connelly had a quarterfinal win to start his day before falling in the semifinals. He rebounded to win a consolation semifinal before suffering a narrow 5-3 loss to top-seeded Camden Stoops of Gettysburg in the third-place match.

Scranton will be back in action on Tuesday, Jan. 10, when the Royals host Elizabethtown in a dual match at 7 p.m. in the John Long Center.

--ROYALS--