GRANTHAM, Pa. -- No. 6 Wilkes finished in the top spot after day one of the Messiah Petrofes Invitational as seven Colonels reached the semifinal round. Wilkes concluded day one of the invitational with 105 total team points.
Host No. 4 Messiah followed in second with 97.5 points, while Mount Union finished third with 95 total points.
At 125-pounds, Guesseppe Rea reached the semifinals with two extra points wins. He claimed a technical fall (17-1) in the first round followed by an 11-1 major decision over Messiah's Marshall Myers in the quarterfinals. Rea will face Seth McCurdy of Mount Union in the semifinals Saturday with a chance for a finals bout with a victory.
Corey Flemming reached the semifinals at 133-pounds with two impressive falls. Flemming pinned Sam Valenti of Mount Union in the first round in 5:18 before taking down Messiah's Kyle Coblentz in 1:16 in the quarterfinals. He faces No. 6 Ryan O'Boyle of McDaniel in the semifinals tomorrow looking for an upset win into the finals.
At 149-pounds, No. 6 Mark Hartenstine remained perfect on the year with three straight falls to reach the semifinals. He pinned all three opponents in under four minutes, including a pin in fifteen seconds in the first round. Hartenstine will face Derek Arnold of Ursinus in the semifinals Saturday.
Marlon Duque enjoyed his finest outing of the season on day one of the 184-pound bracket using a 3-2 decision in the quarterfinals over Brent Kirk of Mount Union to reach the semifinals. Duque awaits a semifinal match against No. 2 Jake Thomson of Messiah on Saturday.
At 197-pounds, Eric Bach claimed two extra point wins to reach the third round. Bach collected a 13-2 decision over Andrew Tullo of Muhlenberg before pinning Mount Union's Lucas Dies in 1:53 in the quarterfinals. He faces No. 8 Hunter Ayen of Springfield in the semifinals tomorrow.
Two Colonels reached the semifinals at 285 as both Michael Shannon and William Fletcher notched a pair of wins on Friday. Shannon pinned McDaniel's David Gunski in the first round, then edged out Irakli Kakauridze of Springfield 4-3 in the quarterfinals. Fletcher scored a 3-1 decision in his first match of the day before pinning Taylor Avino of McDaniel in 2:47 to reach the semis. Shannon faces Ricky Caruso of Bridgewater in the semis while Fletcher matches up with Messiah's Charles Jones.
The Invitational will conclude Saturday with semifinal and final action plus third-place bouts.
