LANCASTER, Pa. - Millersville wrestling returned to the mats for the first time in nearly three weeks and faced stiff Division I competition at Franklin & Marshall's David H. Lehman Open Friday.
Nineteen Marauders were in action at the open.
Devin Flannery, the No. 1-ranked 133-pounder in Division II, wrestled up a weight class and won three matches, reaching the quarterfinals at 141 before being eliminated in the consolation round of eight.
Craig Cook, ranked eighth at 149, started his day with two wins but was bounced with a loss in the round of 16 and a consolation loss. Heavyweight
Jordan Espinosa went 2-1. That trio was the only Marauders to score at least two wins on the day.
"I thought we wrestled tough today," said Millersville head coach
Jerry Boland. "We didn't back down from the competition and wrestled hard for seven minutes. It was our first competition in three weeks, so it was good for our guys to get that exposure."
Despite wrestling out of his weight class, Flannery scored impressive wins to start his day. He rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the opening round against Lehigh's Kimo Leia and won 6-4 in sudden victory. With just 1:30 remaining in the match, Flannery got an escape for his second point of the match and then hit a takedown with 27 seconds remaining to even the score. 1:18 into the sudden victory period, Flannery got the two points he needed for the win.
Flannery then rolled to a 9-2 win over Davidson's Matt McLaughlin and then edged American's Ethan Szerencsits with another late rally in which he scored an escape in the final minute to tie the match at 3-3, and then won 5-3 in sudden victory. Flannery's run was cut down by eventual champ Lachlan McNeil of North Carolina. Flannery then bowed out of the consolation bracket with a medical forfeit to Princeton's Kelly Dunnigan.
Cook dominated early in the day, winning an 18-0 tech fall over Sacred Heart's Rocco DeMartino in round one. He scored 12 points (10 with nearfalls) in the first period. He then cruised to an 8-0 major decision over Princeton's Drew Lang before back-to-back losses by decision to Division I opponents.
Espinosa started quickly in the opening round, racing to a 5-0 lead and finishing an 8-2 decision over North Carolina's Albert Hernandez. In round two, Espinosa defeated Sacred Heart's Matt Walker by 15-0 tech fall, ending the match 19 seconds into the second period after picking up three four-point nearfalls. Espinosa battled third-seeded Nathan Taylor of Lehigh to a 2-0 decision for his first loss, and in the consolation bracket, he forfeited, ending his day.
While the eighth-ranked Marauders wrestled the open without a couple of regular starters, it provided a needed tune-up for the Jan. 13 dual against Pitt-Johnstown, which is ranked seventh in Division II.
"Today was definitely a great way to prepare for our big dual schedule coming up, particularly next week's match," said Boland. "Our guys are aware of that and it's a good gauge for where we need to be."
