SPRINGFIELD, Mass. –
Coast Guard wrestling took 1st of 13 teams at the annual Doug Parker Invitational hosted by Springfield College. They finished over 25 points ahead of second place Williams College with 167.5 to the Ephs 141.5.
Along with coming out victorious as a team, the Bears had three individual winners in their weight groups:
Nathan Fitt(Branchville, NJ) at 149,
Gabriel Monroe(Kirkwood, NY) at 184, and
Carl DiGiorgio(Doylestown, PA) at 285. For his dominating performance(one fall, two tech falls, and a major decision in the finals), DiGiorgio was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament! Two spots behind the senior DiGiorgio in the 285 bracket was freshman
Lincoln Bibla(Mountain Top, PA) who took 3rd on the podium.
The Bears had their hands all over the 157 bracket, owning the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th spots with
Jacob Woodburn(Greensboro, NC),
Cael Finn(Simsbury, CT), and
Mike Edwards(Glenpool, OK). Coast Guard also held both the 2nd and 3rd spots in the 165 bracket with
Thomas Rhodes(Last Forest Park, WA) and
Landon Kearns(East Brunswick, NJ). Rhodes took second after a tight 4-1 decision loss in the finals.
Three other Bears finished in the top three in their respective brackets:
Dom Moyer(Milford, PA) at 141,
Mason Gourley(Clarion, PA) at 174, and
Kevin Pandorf(Elmer, NJ) at 197, with
Kekoa Madayag(Rohnert Park, CA) finishing 4th at 125.
Two weeks from now, the Bears, now 1st place finishers in both Invites they've competed in, will head to Gorham, Maine for the Ted Reese Invite hosted by the University of Southern Maine. The Ted Reese Invitational will take place on Friday December 5th and Saturday December 5th.
