MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – Over 250 collegiate wrestlers arrived on the campus of Millersville University on Saturday afternoon hoping to claim a "Shorty" Hitchcock Memorial Tournament title. The Millersville Marauders fought through the tough competition and earned a pair of placewinners on the day. 125-pound freshman Devin Flannery was runner-up in the weight class after a 4-1 decision in the finals, while freshman Brandon Connor persevered to earn three victories by decision and a sixth-place finish in the 157-pound bracket. The Marauders have now had multiple placewinners in back-to-back years. Prior to 2019, Millersville had not earned multiple placewinners since the 2008-2009 season. 

A number of Division I programs entered wrestlers into the brackets, including Penn State University. Nittany Lions head coach Cael Sanderson was in attendance and roaming mat-side at the Student Memorial Center.
 
Four other Marauders earned two wins each on the day. Freshmen Eli Tuckey (141 pounds) and Jackson Erb (149) both lost their first bouts of the day but battled back through the consolation bracket. Sophomore Ryan McGuire (141 pounds) and senior Caleb Warner (285) both won the first two bouts they wrestled but suffered losses in the quarterfinals.
 
2020 "SHORTY" HITCHCOCK MEMORIAL OPEN HIGHLIGHTS
• Freshman Devin Flannery continued to impress with a deep run through the 125-pound bracket. Flannery earned a 22-7 technical fall over Romeo McNeal of Finger Lakes RTC to begin his day, then followed it up with decisions over Drexel's Dante Mininno (9-7) in the quarterfinals and Penn State's Baylor Shunk (10-3) in the semifinals. Flannery looked threatening from the neutral position in the finals against Bucknell's Geo Barzona but could not break through for a takedown and took the 4-1 loss.

• Another Marauder freshman, Brandon Connor, had to grind out results all afternoon at 157 pounds. He opened up with a 9-6 decision over Virginia's Patrick Evans, then earned an 8-6 decision over West Point's Christian Hunt. A 4-1 loss to Jeremy Ridge from Penn in the quarterfinals dropped Connor to the consolation bracket, where he dispatched of West Point's Jimmy Saylor 8-2 and advanced to the fifth-place bout. He gave up a fall to Anthony Ulaszek of the Naval Academy Prep School and finished the bracket in sixth place.

• The young Millersville roster continued to earn valuable experience, including in the 141-pound bracket. Freshman Eli Tuckey gave up a fall to Franklin & Marshall's Will Gill in just 18 seconds to open his tournament, but recovered to win his next two bouts. The first was a 10-4 decision over Buffalo's Tommy Maddox, with the second a 3-1 decision over Bloomsburg's Marlon Diaz. Tuckey's day came to an end after a major decision loss to PRTC's Lukas Richie.
 
• Yet another Ville freshman, Jackson Erb, recovered after giving up a fall in his first bout in the 149-pound bracket. Patrick Ryan of American University sent Erb to the consolation bracket in 2:26, where Erb then rebounded with a fall of his own against Greensboro College's Tony Locke in 1:27. That momentum carried over to his next bout, a 6-0 decision over Centenary's Perry Malo. Erb's day ended with a very close 5-3 loss to Buffalo's Ty Raines.
 
• Sophomore Ryan McGuire zoomed out of the gates to a hot start in the 141-pound bracket. He blanked LIU's Adam Barker with a 15-0 technical fall, and also shut out Franklin & Marshall's Sean Coakley with a 8-0 major decision. McGuire was the aggressor late in his quarterfinal bout against West Point's Dom Carrone but lost after a 4-3 decision. He then ran into a Penn State's Joey Blumer in the consolation bracket and suffered the 6-3 defeat.
 
• Marauders senior heavyweight Caleb Warner continued to show great tournament results. He dispatched VMI's Robbie Adelstein by technical fall 17-1 then earned the 8-6 decision over Rider's James Brady to advance to the quarterfinals. Unfortunately, he ran into Penn State's Daniel Kerkvliet, a former world champion, top recruit in the nation, and eventual champion of the 285-pound bracket at this year's tournament. Kerkvliet earned the fall in 2:34, shaking up Warner with a hard takedown late in the bout. Dropping to the consolation bracket, Warner's day ended after a 10-3 decision to West Point's Jeremiah Imonode.
 
POST-TOURNAMENT REACTION FROM HEAD COACH KERRY REGNER
•On hosting the "Shorty" Hitchcock Memorial Open: "I think it's really important for our program and our institution to be able to showcase not just our wrestling program but our school as a whole. We get a lot of compliments about our facilities, the staff, the friendliness, and it's a good experience for everyone. We pay homage to "Shorty" Hitchcock, a legend when it comes to wrestling in Pennsylvania, at Millersville, and our country. This is vitally important for so many aspects of our program and who we are."

•On earning two placewinners: "Obviously wrestling elite competition like this is key. It's important to figure out what it takes to win at the next level. If you place in tournaments like this, then good things are bound to happen and you may make it to March (and the NCAA Tournament.)"
 
NOTES
• The Marauders recorded five falls and three technical falls in this year's "Shorty".
• Caleb Warner improved his tournament record to 14-5 this season, including seven falls and two technical falls.
• Devin Flannery's run to the finals improved his overall record to 11-3 (8-2 tournament record.)
• Ryan McGuire became the fourth Marauder to attain double-digit wins in 2019-2020, joining Flannery (11), Warner (14) and Josh Walls (11.)
• Sophomore Rob Saum earned his second victory of the 2019-2020 season, a fall over Nassau CC's Scott Defex in 2:22. Saum finished his freshman season with two victories.
 
UP NEXT
The Marauders head to the Kutztown Duals on Saturday, January 18 to face UNC Pembroke (10 a.m.), Davis & Elkins (12 p.m.), American International (2 p.m.), and Queens College (4 p.m.)