SOURCE: www.cortlandreddragons.com

December 04, 2021

Three Red Dragons Win Titles at Messiah Petrofes Invitational https://t.co/F51f8Cx3Dd

— Cortland Athletics (@RedDragonPride) December 4, 2021

MECHANICSBURG, PA. - J.C. Cardenas (Brooklyn/Grand Street Campus), Demitreus Henry (Brooklyn/Grand Street Campus) and Brian Torres (Brooklyn/Grand Street Campus) won weight-class titles and four others Cortland wrestlers placed in the top eight Friday and Saturday at the Messiah College's Petrofes Invitational. Cardenas, the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler, won the 133-pound title with a 4-0 record. Henry went 5-0 to win at 174 pounds and Torres was 5-0 to win at 184 pounds.

Cortland finished fifth out of 17 schools in the final team standings. The top six places were relatively tight, with Muhlenberg taking the title at 147.5 points, followed by Messiah (138), Mount Union (137.5), Alvernia (135.5), Cortland (132) and McDaniel (125.5).

The Red Dragons' placewinners, in addition to their three champions, were Chandler Merwin (Walton) in third place at 157 pounds, Ben Klei (Victor) in fifth place at 285 pounds, Cody Merwin (Walton) in sixth place at 125 pounds, and Steven Gazzillo (New Windsor/Cornwall) in seventh place at 165 pounds.

Cardenas won two of his four matches by pin, including one in the semifinals. He defeated Mount Union's David Massey, 5-2, in the finals. Henry's 5-0 record at 174 started with a major decision and a pin, followed by three decisions. He edged Bridgewater State's Fox Maxwell, 4-3, in the finals. Torres won all five of his matches by decision, capped by a 6-3 win over Mount Union's George Lassnick in the championship bout.

Chandler Merwin posted a 5-1 record at 157 pounds. He started with two pins and a major decision before losing, 2-1, in the semifinals. He bounced back to win the next match and earned a 2-0 decision versus Alvernia's Robert Lawlor in the third-place match. Klei was 5-2 at 285 pounds. After losing his first match, he came back to win four straight, one by pin, before another loss. He won by medical forfeit in the fifth-place match. Cody Merwin was 3-3 at 125 pounds. He pinned his first two opponents and won his next match to reach the semifinals. After a 9-8 loss in that match, he dropped a pair of decisions in the consolation bracket to finish sixth. Gazzillo was 3-2 at 165 pounds, with all three of his victories coming by pin. The last of those was versus Deontae Frederick of McDaniel in the seventh-place match.

Five other Red Dragons - Justin Amendola (Rocky Point) at 125, Vinnie Santilli (South Glens Falls) and Amos Rivera (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) each at 133, Kyle Klein (Miller Place) at 149, and Bailey Butler (Horseheads) at 165 - each finished the tournament with 2-2 records.