NORMAN, Okla. -- Fifth-ranked Oklahoma secured its 15th consecutive Brockport/Oklahoma Invitational on Saturday as it totaled 168.0 points and six of its wrestlers won individual titles at the annual event.
Seventeenth-ranked Bloomsburg came in second with 133.0 points, followed by Army in third with 101.0 points. Buffalo, American and Brockport rounded out the standings with 95.5, 91.0 and 31.5 points, respectively.
To date, Oklahoma is the only school to take home the event’s title. Redshirt senior Jarrod Patterson, redshirt sophomore Cody Brewer, redshirt senior Nick Lester, redshirt senior Justin DeAngelis, redshirt senior Andrew Howe and redshirt senior Travis Rutt all won titles in their respective weight classes.
Patterson claimed the 125-pound title with a 5-3 decision against David Terao of American. En route to the finals, Patterson recorded a 0:33 fall, 4-1 decision and a 8-1 decision.
With a 15-8 decision, Brewer took the 133-pound division against Bloomsburg’s Nick Wilcox. Prior to the finals, Brewer recorded three technical fall victories of 16-0, 18-0 and 16-1.
Lester won at 141 pounds by decision against Nick Flannery of Buffalo 12-6. Lester secured two technical falls and another decision earlier in the tournament.
DeAngelis finished at the top of the 157-pound class with a 10-8 decision against Army’s Paul Hancock. DeAngelis received the Aggregate Pin Award after recording two pins in the event in 3:11.
In the 174-pound bracket, Howe finished first with a 6:29 fall against Army’s Brian Harvey in the final bout, while Rutt won at 197 pounds following an 8-2 decision against Bloomsburg’s Rich Perry. Howe secured a 22-7 technical fall in the semifinals, and Rutt added a 2:06 fall in the first round.
No. 2 Minnesota at Bison Open
FARGO, N.D. -- Minnesota kicked off its 2013-14 campaign by traveling to the annual Bison Open. The Maroon and Gold returned home with eight individual titles, three more than they arrived home with last year.
The eight title winners included David Thorn (133), Christopher Dardanes (141), Nick Dardanes (149), Dylan Ness (157), Logan Storely (174), Brett Pfarr (184), Scott Schiller (197) and Tony Nelson (285). These eight titles bring the Golden Gophers to 158 all-time Bison Open titles.
Minnesota was able to come home with eight of the 10 titles of the day. In the 125- and 165-weight classes, in which North Dakota State came out on top, the Golden Gophers ended in second place. Three different finals were Minnesota against Minnesota as either winner would bring home a title for the Maroon & Gold.
The annual event hosted competitors from North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Minnesota-State Moorhead, Concordia, Southwest Minnesota State, Mary, Jamestown and Northern State.
No. 7 Illinois at Loras Open
DUBUQUE, Iowa. -- The Fighting Illini opened the season at the Loras Open on Saturday, where 12 Illini placed in the top three, including nine first-place finishes. Illinois tallied 15 pins and 12 technical falls on the day.
Redshirt-sophomore Dominic Olivieri (125), redshirt-freshmen Zane Richards (133), John Fahy (141), Zac Brunson (157) and Nikko Reyes (184), redshirt-junior Jackson Morse (165), redshirt-senior Tony Dallago (174), and redshirt-sophomore Christopher Lopez (HWT) all took the title at their respective weight classes.
Olivieri won all five of his matches by decisions, while Richards won by technical fall in three of his four matches. Fahy's victories included two pins and a major decision, while Brunson began the tournament with a tech. fall followed by three decisions. Morse dominated the 165-pound weight class, winning all five matches by tech. falls, while Dallago recorded two pins in his four matches. Reyes competed in four matches, winning two by decisions and two by pins, while Lopez recorded a pin and two decisions.
Redshirt-sophomore Jeff Koepke placed second at 184 pounds, and redshirt-junior Jake Gingerich (157) and redshirt-sophomore Brandon Lopez (165) placed third.
Illinois also had three wrestlers compete in the silver bracket, with freshman Kyle Langenderfer taking the title at 157 pounds. He wrestled unattached and recorded three tech. falls in his four matches. Freshman Adeyemi Sosina (157) placed sixth, while Danny Hicks wrestled unattached at 174 pounds.
No. 9 Edinboro at Michigan State Open
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Edinboro officially opened the 2013-14 season on Saturday by competing in the Michigan State Open. The Fighting Scots finished with 12 wrestlers placing, led by a first-place finish by A.J. Schopp in the open division.
Schopp dominated the 133 lb. weight class, going 5-0 with four falls. His lone decision was an 8-1 triumph in the semifinals against Michigan's Javier Gasca, and he followed that up with a fall at 4:26 against Colton Rasche of Navy. Schopp boosted his career record to 77-11 with 41 falls, moving into fifth place in career falls.
Mitchell Port also reached the semifinal in the open division at 141 lbs., but he would injury default in his match with Zach Horan of Central Michigan and ended up finishing fourth. He picked up three wins to give him 67 for his career before exiting.
Kory Mines captured third place at 125 lbs., ending the day with a 4-1 record with a pair of pins. He won by technical fall at 16-1 against Bryden Lazaro of California Baptist in the consolation final. Heavyweight Ernest James took home fifth place, going 4-1 with three falls. He won by fall at 1:51 against Kosta Karageorge of Ohio State in the fifth place match.
Johnny Greisheimer and Kasey Burnett-Davis continued their battle for the 157 lb. starting job in Michigan. Both lost in the quarterfinals, and would meet in the consolation bracket. Burnett-Davis won a 9-7 decision in overtime in last week's wrestleoffs, but this time it was Greisheimer prevailing 8-5 in the consolation semifinals. He would go on to take home sixth place and finish the day with a 4-2 record. Burnett-Davis was 3-2. He reached the seventh-place match, which was not wrestled.
Casey Fuller was the seventh Boro grappler to place in the open division. He also reached the seventh-place match and was 4-2 overall.
No. 10 Ohio State at Michigan State Open
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Members of 10th-ranked Ohio State had successful outings at the Michigan State Open on Saturday. In Jenison Field House, redshirt sophomore Kenny Courts won the 184-pound title and senior Ian Paddock (149 pounds) and redshirt freshman Nick Roberts (125 pounds) finished in the top five with third- and fifth-place finishes, respectively.
The MSU Open served as the final tune up for a few Buckeyes before the team opens its home and dual schedule versus Notre Dame on Nov. 15 in St. John Arena. Ohio State is 60-32-1 all-time in season openers and 50-36-1 in home openers. Under the direction of head coach Tom Ryan, the Buckeyes have won five of their past six season and home openers.
After winning five consecutive matches on Saturday, Courts jumped to 8-1 on the season. Behind two major decisions and three decisions, Courts won his first tournament of the season after placing second at the Clarion Open a week ago. In the final, Courts defeated Lucas Sheridan of Indiana, 6-4.
