RECAP | Wrestling takes third at Mideast Futures Tournament https://t.co/Ucsda8I1n5
— RIT Athletics (@RITathletics) February 21, 2022
ALLENTOWN, PA. - Sophomore Josh Post's first-pace finish helped RIT to third place at the Mideast Futures Tournament, Sunday.
"After a slow start the guys came back strong in the later rounds. Each setback was followed by a strong recovery which led to a great tournament for our guys," RIT assistant coach Sean Peacock said.
"Josh Post had four wins on his way to a title at 141. Clay Rankin and Liam Strouse rebounded from early losses and went 5-1 to take third, while Nate DeGroff bounced back from a semifinals loss to go 4-1 and finish third. Nathan Parker went 5-1 on the day finishing fourth due to a match limit. All of our guys showed a lot of resilience and grit on the day and they showed there is a bright future with RIT wrestling in the years to come."
Post took the 141-pound bracket, while four other Tigers finished in the top-four. Sophomores Clay Rankin (133 pounds) and Liam Strouse (157 pounds) joined freshman Nate DeGroff (285 pounds) with third-place finishes, while junior Nathan Parker (184 pounds) took fourth.
Overall, 13 Tigers competed in nine weight brackets against 14 other schools of non-senior wrestlers with remaining eligibility not participating in NCAA Regionals.
Six RIT wrestlers competed in the quarterfinals or above, including sophomore Jeff Robinson (133 pounds), and freshmen Lee Rubin (125 pounds) and Dara Heydarpour (165 pounds).
Post took a 6-2 decision in the 141-pound finals against Cortland's Vincent Santilli, after pinning Alva's Paul Kakos in 4:09 in the semifinals. Prior to that, Post took an 18-3 technical fall over Gettysburg's Anthony Cascio before beginning with a fall against Cortland's Ryan Hart in 6:35.
Heydarpour finished 3-1 after falling in the semifinals in the 165-pound bracket with a fall and a pair of decisions. Robinson finished 2-1 after falling 6-4 in the semifinals of the 133-pound bracket. The sophomore started with a pair of pins in the first and quarterfinal rounds.
Other participants for RIT were freshmen Aiden Prunoske (125 pounds) and Johnathan Freebern (125 pounds); sophomores Seth Russo and Joshua Sam; and junior Ben Dougherty. Eleven Tigers who competed are in their first year of competition eligibility with Parker and Dougherty being sophomore and junior eligible.
The only teams to finish ahead of RIT were Cortland and the Stevens Institute of Technology, with the latter edging RIT by a half-point for second place.
Wrestling next travels to Elizabethtown, Pa. for the NCAA Mideast Regional on Friday, Feb. 25 and Saturday, Feb. 26.