BROCKPORT, N.Y. – The Golden Eagle wrestling team was split up on Saturday, with half the wrestlers competing in the Thunderwolves Open hosted by Niagara County Community College, with the other half at the New Standard Invitational in York, Pa.
The group in Niagara finished in third, while the group in York finished in seventh position.
Jake Smith placed in the 141-lb weight class at Niagara, finishing fifth overall. After going 1-1 to start, Smith won two straight bouts, the second of which came in a tight 4-0 decision over Jazey Walker of Niagara College. He was defeated in a tight 8-3 decision in the next round, before coming back to beat his opponent 6-4 to earn fifth.
Michael LaRuffa finished second in the 149-lb weight class at NCCC, winning his first two matches before falling in the finals to Chris Moungle of Spartanburg College.
Jordan Kayes and Matt Osbourne also performed well at 149, finishing third and fourth, respectively.
The Golden Eagles had three wrestlers finish in the top-six of the 157 lb weight class at NCCC as well, with Jon Topf leading the way. Topf pinned three of his first four opponents on the way to a third place matchup with Ethan Kenney of Penn State Fayette, where he eventually lost. Zack Bendick and
Corey Farrell were the other two Golden Eagles in the top six at this weight class.
After a strong performance last week at the NYS Championships last week,
Jonathan Haas went the distance again at the New Standard Invite, winning the 125-lb weight class. He defeated opponents from Baldwin Wallace, Ithaca, and Stevens, before advancing to the championship round where he defeated A. Rodden of Cortland by a 6-1 decision.
Sean O'Hagan started his day in the 141-lb weight class with a win before suffering a loss to M. McAllister to move into the consolation bracket. From there, he won three straight matches, two of which were by decision and one of which was by fall.
Sean Peacock took home third in the 149-lb weight class, winning his first two matches before falling into the consolation bracket where he ran the table. The third place match was against Z. Wilhelm of Stevens, whom he defeated in a tight 3-1 decision.
Triston Engle continued his dominant season with a first place finish in the 197-lb weight class at the New Standard Invite. His path to victory came by a variety of win-types; first by fall, then by a 6-0 decision, followed by a 17-2 technical fall win in the semifinals. The finals proved just as easy for Engle, as he defeated Elizabethtown's Luke Fernandez by fall in 1:51 to take the weight class.
