Booth Leads Dragons With Second-Place Finish at Lock Haven Invite

Thursday, December 29

Lock Haven, Pa.

All Day

Drexel University

Lock Haven Invitational

Booth Leads Dragons With Second-Place Finish at Lock Haven Invite

12/29/2011 7:58:00 PM | Wrestling

Lock Haven, Pa. - Drexel finished sixth out of 11 at the Lock Haven Invitational led by Joseph Booth's second place finish at 165 pounds. Five other Dragons finished on the podium including Brandon Palik's third place finish, fourth place finishes by Michael Gomez at 125 pounds and Frank Cimato at 141 pounds and two fifth place finishes by Austin Sommer at 157 pounds and Kyle Frey at heavy weight. Palik also picked up three pins in a row, two of which came in the first period, for a team leading five win-by-falls.

At 125 pounds Gomez went 2-2 on his way to a fourth place finish inculding victories over Bllomsburg's Elliot Zackoski and Pittsburgh's Chace Small. The senior is now 6-8 overall. Cimato also went 2-2 on his way to a fourth place finish where he picked up wins over Matt Bystol of Columbia 8-4 and Richard Durson of Franklin & Marshall 10-3. The junior is now 9-8 on the season and has picked up his second fourth-place finish of the year.

Sommer, seeded fith, wrestled sixt matches and went 4-2 on the day while picking up his first major decision of the season with an 8-0 win over host Lock Haven's Aaron Fry. The sophomore is now 9-8, breaking .500 with his final vicotry for fifth place over Michigan's Jacob Salazar. Frey, also with a fifth place finish, went 2-2 on the day setting his season record at 13-4 overall. Frey picked up wins over Bloomsburg's Zach Walsh, 5-3, and Virginia Military Insititute's Andrew Embree, 6-2.

Palik's impressive performace launched him into the top spot on the squad with five pins on the season after he picked up three in a row over Issiah Cromwell of Columbia, Richard Perry of Bloomsburg and Keith Witt of Kent State. Palik's only loss on the day came at the hands of Witt in an 8-10 sudden victory. Palik set things straight when he pinned the Golden Flash's Witt in the second period at 4:43 in the third place match.

Freshman Nick Becattini went 1-2 on the day picking up his first career fall over Sacred Heart's Zachary Moran just 1:53 into the first period. The 184 pounder's fall is the fastest pin among all Dragons this season with just four occuring in first periods this year. Shane Fenningham split matches going 2-2 at 149 pounds including wins over David Yost of VMI, 8-4, and Kurtis Baker of Bloomsburg, 10-3.

Booth, returning after a short hiatus, didn't dissapoint as he outscored his first three opponents 16-3 including a major decision over Columbia's Kevin Brown in the first match. Seeded first, Booth nearly pulled the first place finish but was barely edged by Michigan's Daniel Yates in a 1-2 decision. Booth now boasts a 12-3 overall record.

Drexel will be back in action Sunday, January 8 when the Dragons travel to Hampstead, N.Y. to open up CAA competition with a match against Hofstra. The Dragons square off with the Pride at 1:00 p.m.

125 pounds:
Sean Boylan (Bloom) dec. Michael Gomez (DU) 0-6
Michael Gomez (DU) dec. Elliot Zackoski (Bloom) 7-2
Michael Gomez (DU) dec. Chace Small (Pitt) 3-2
Sean Boylan (Bloom) dec. Michael Gomez (DU) 4-9

133 pounds:
Troy Opferkant (Kent) dec. Josh Yurasits (DU) 0-4
Robert Ruiz (F&M) med. for. Josh Yurasits (DU)

141 pounds:
Frank Cimato (DU) dec. Matt Bystol (Columbia) 8-4
Kellen Russell (Mich) maj. Frank Cimato (DU) 6-20
Frank Cimato (DU) dec Richard Durso (F&M) 10-3
Travis Shaffer (Pitt) dec. Frank Cimato (DU) 0-2

149 pounds:
Ian Miller (Kent) dec. Shance Fenningham (DU) 6-17
Shane Fenningham (DU) dec. David Yost (Mich) 8-4
Shane Fenningham (DU) dec. Kurtis Becker (Bloom) 10-3
Owen Wilkinson (LHU) wbf Shane Fenningham (DU) 2:46

157 pounds:
Austin Sommer (DU) dec. Jordan Moss (Pitt) 4-3
Brandon Zeerip (Mich) dec. Austin Sommer (DU) 5-9
Austin Sommer (DU) dec. Troy Reaghard (Pitt) 7-4
Austin Sommer (DU) maj. Aaron Fry (LHU) 8-0
Mallice Shuster (Kent) maj. Austin Sommer (DU) 1-9
Austin Sommer (DU) dec. Jacob Salazar (Mich) 6-4

165 pounds:
Joseph Booth (DU) maj. Kevin Brown (Colum) 9-0
Joseph Booth (DU) dec. David Johnson (Mich) 4-1
Joseph Booth (DU) dec. Tyler Wilps (Pitt) 3-2
Daniel Yates (Mich) dec. Joseph Booth (DU) 1-2

Anson Worrell (DU) wbf Jonathan Jones (VMI) 1:24
Daniel Yates (Mich) maj. Anson Worrell (DU) 1-14
Tommy Sasfy (Kent) dec. Anson Worrell (DU) 3-9

174 pounds:
Colin Zeerip (Mich) dec. Alex Rinaldi (DU) 2-4
Adam Fondale (Colum) dec. Alex Rinaldi (DU) 1-2

Matthew Brock (VMI) dec. Ethan Keiser (DU) 0-2
Patrick Tasser (Pitt) maj. Ethan Keiser (DU) 2-16

184 pounds:
Casey Newberg (Kent) maj. Nick Becattini (DU) 3-12
Nick Becattini (DU) wbf Zachary Moran (Sacred Heart) 1:53
Sam Shirey (Bloom) dec. Nick Becattini (DU) 2-13

Zachary Heffner (LHU) dec. Brian Sternlieb (DU) 0-7
Brian Sternlieb (DU) dec. Matt Latessa (F&M) 7-3
Jon Dommert (VMI) maj. Brian Sternlieb (DU) 2-15

197 Pounds:
Brandon Palik (DU) maj. Matt Parlier (LHU) 10-2
Keith Witt (Kent) sv dec. Brandon Pailk (DU) 8-10
Brandon Palik (DU) dec. Ryan Buckner (Kent) 6-3
Brandon Palik (DU) wbf Issiah Cromwell (F&M) 2:52
Brandon Palik (DU) wbf Richard Perry (Bloom) 2:54
Brandon Palik (DU) wbf Keith Witt (Kent) 4:43

Jamie Callender (DU) forf. Ryan Ryan Buckner (Kent)
Richard Perry (Bloom) dec. Jamie Callender (DU) 4-5
Matt Idelson (Clom) med. for. Jamie Callender (DU

Heavy Weight:
Kyel Frey (DU) dec. Zach Walsh (Bloom) 5-3
Ben Apland (Mich) wbf Kyle Frey (DU) 6:22
Kevin Lester (Colum) wbf Kyle Frey (DU) 1:37
Kyle Frey (DU) dec. Andrew Embree (VMI) 6-2