Pennsylvania Wrestlers Dominate Keystone Classic
PHILADELPHIA – The 2016 Keystone Classic hosted by Penn was full of Pennsylvania wrestlers from a variety of NCAA programs. Overall 18 wrestlers from the Keystone State finished with medals and six left the City of Brotherly Love as Tournament Champions.
The Penn State Nittany Lions dominated the field with 245 team points with Pitt the next closest program at 121.5 points. Five Penn State grapplers from Pennsylvania won their weights as middleweights Zain Retherford, and Jason Nolf, Vincenzo Joseph anchored the group.
At 133 lbs. Pittsburgh junior Dom Forys (North Allegheny), a 2015 NCAA Qualifier, had no issues earning the Championship title with a fall, major decision, and (8-3) decision over Kevin Devoy (Drexel) in the finals. At 141 lbs. 2016 PIAA State Runner-up Evan Fidelibus (Easton Area/Rider) dropped his first match to Jimmy Gulibon (Derry Area/Penn State) he stormed back to win six straight bouts and claim third place.
One of the most dominant wrestlers in the Nation, Zain Retherford (Benton Area/Penn State), dominated the field at 149 lbs. as the NCAA National Champion won all five matches by fall never letting his opponents our of the second period. Pitt’s Mikey Racciato (Pen Argyl Area) fell to Retherford in the semifinals but bounced back to finish third.
Like Retherford before him Penn State’s Jason Nolf simply destroyed the competition at 157 lbs. as the 2016 NCAA National Runner-up earned three falls and two tech-falls en route to the Championship title. In the quarterfinals Eastern Michigan’s Zac Carson scored the opening takedown against Nolf but paid the price as he was pinned in the second period.
In the most anticipated bout of the Keystone Classic Penn State redshirt freshman Vincenzo Joseph (Central Catholic) got his season on track with a solid performance at 165 lbs. as he won the Championship title from the fourth seed. In the semifinals Cenzo faced Rider junior Chad Walsh a 2016 NCAA All-American who came in ranked #5 in the Nation at 165 lbs. by Flo. Despite surrendering the first takedown of the match Joseph fired back picking up three takedowns winning (12-5). Vincenzo came into the Keystone Classic with a (1-1) record for the Nittany Lions but finished the day undefeated as he met Te’shan Campbell (Penn Hills/Pitt) in the finals. Campbell, who entered ranked #15 in the Nation by Flo, was a 2015 PIAA State Champion at 170 lbs. while Cenzo was the 152 lbs. Champion. The pair are friends off the mat and grew up competing together as youths. Joseph rode the momentum through the finals controlling the match gathering three takedowns and earning riding time to clinch a (9-5) victory over Campbell.
At 174 lbs. Penn State teammates Geno Morelli (DuBois Area) and Shakur Rasheed faced-off with the match going deep into overtime as Rasheed was able to come out on top of a grueling bout. Former North Allegheny grappler Alex Deciantis (Drexel) finished third in a talented 184 lbs. bracket. Penn State won their sixth straight Championship title at 197 lbs. when Matt McCutcheon (Kiski Area/Penn State) connected on a late third period takedown to take out Penn’s Frank Mattice (3-1). Cutch was clutch with only four seconds left in the bout and earning the Keystone Classic Championship.
Full results in the Flo Arena here!
125 lbs.
1st Nick Suriano (Penn State) MD Noah Gonser (Eastern Michigan), 12-4
3rd LJ Bentley (Pitt) DEC Zack Fuentes (Norristown Area/Drexel University), 3-2
5th Dalton Henderson (Virginia Military Institute) M FOR Vito Pasone (E.L. Meyers/Appalachian State), 0-0 0:00
133 lbs.
1st Dom Forys (North Allegheny/Pitt) DEC Kevin Devoy (Drexel University), 8-3
3rd Jered Cortez (Penn State) F Shayne Wireman (Eastern Michigan), 0:44
5th Colby Smith (Appalachian State) DEC Jeffrey Ott (Harvard), 7-0
141 lbs.
1st Kyle Springer (Eastern Michigan) DEC Kade Moss (Penn State), 5-2
3rd Evan Fidelibus (Easton Area/Rider University) F Robert Lee (Pitt), 2:58
5th Dom Giannangeli (Franklin Regional/Penn State) DEC Irvin Enriquez (Appalachian State), 8-7
149 lbs.
1st Zain Retherford (Benton Area/Penn State) F Matthew Zovistoski (Appalachian State), 2:46
3rd Mikey Racciato (Pen Argyl Area/Pitt) DEC Gary Dinmore (Penn State), 9-6
5th Nick Barber (Eastern Michigan) DEC Hunter Ladnier (Harvard), 8-2
157 lbs.
1st Jason Nolf (Kittanning/Penn State) TF Maaziah Bethea (Penn), 25-10 6:04
3rd Taleb Rahmani (Pitt) F JJ Wolfe (Eastern Michigan), 4:35
5th Neal Richards (Virginia Military Institute) M FOR Jake Wentzel (South Park/Pitt)
165 lbs.
1st Vincenzo Joseph (Central Catholic/Penn State) DEC Te’shan Campbell (Penn Hills/Pitt), 9-5
3rd Chad Walsh (Rider University) FOR Austin Rose (Central Dauphin/Drexel University)
5th Forrest Przybysz (Appalachian State) DEC Rob King (Garden Spot/F&M), 6-4
174 lbs.
1st Shakur Rasheed (Penn State) F Geno Morelli (DuBois Area/Penn State), 11:00
3rd Josef Johnson (Harvard) DEC Jacob Davis (Eastern Michigan), 6-0
5th Wayne Stinson (Rider University) M FOR Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern University), 0-0 0:00
184 lbs.
1st Bo Nickal (Penn State) F Mitch Sliga (Northwestern University), 6:34
3rd Alex Deciantis (North Allegheny/Drexel University) DEC Mike Fagg-Daves (Rider University), 5-3 SV
5th Anthony Mancini (F&M) DEC Kayne MaCcallum (Eastern Michigan), 9-4
197 lbs.
1st Matt McCutcheon (Kiski Area/Penn State) DEC Frank Mattiace (Penn), 3-1
3rd Jacob Berkowitz (Northwestern University) DEC Joe Heyob (Penn), 8-3
5th Kellan Stout (Mount Lebanon/Penn State) DEC Randall Diabe (Appalachian State), 8-6
285 lbs.
1st Nick Nevills (Penn State) DEC Denzel Dejournette (Appalachian State), 8-3
3rd Joey Goodhart (Hempfield Area/Drexel University) DEC Nickolas Gajdzik (Harvard), 4-2
5th Cary Miller (Appalachian State) DEC Gage Hutchison (Eastern Michigan), 2-1