PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Washington and Lee wrestling team competed in the East Coast Holiday Wrestling Classic hosted by Johnson & Wales on Friday.
The Generals claimed five place-winners led by sophomore Ron Tassoni (Media, Pa. / Haverford School), who finished as the runner-up in the 174-pound weight class. Tassoni opened with a 13-3 win over Johnson & Wales' Dae'Sean Brown and then defeated Shane Currey of Niagara Community College. He then fell to Jonathan Secor of Lycoming by a score of 4-0 in the championship match.
Sophomore Zac Richey (Swoope, Va. / Buffalo Gap) claimed fifth-place in the 184-pound weight bracket by posting a 3-2 overall record. He began his day with a 5-2 loss to Cedrick Stephens of Niagara C.C., before posting wins over unattached competitor Ken Dougherty (9-3) and Deion Sonsaila of Lakeland, 17-1. He then fell to Greg Wetzel of Lycoming by a score of 6-0 and finished with a win by forfeit in the fifth-place match.
At 197 pounds, first-year Bennett Lewis (St. Louis, Mo. / Westminster Christian) finished with a 2-2 record to finish in fifth-place. After dropping an 18-3 decision to Carl Lawrence of Missouri Valley, Lewis posted a win by forfeit, but was then pinned by Skylar Ebner of Lycoming in 2:20. He recovered to post a 10-8 overtime win over Nikolas Christine of Lycoming in the fifth-place match.
Sophomore Grant Cokeley (Charleston, W.Va. / George Washington) finished sixth in the 285-pound bracket. He dropped a 5-0 decision to Jonah Aurelio of Johnson & Wales before recovering to win his next two matches. He posted a 3-2 win over Justin Smith of Missouri Valley and then knocked off Aaron Kroll of Niagara C.C., 1-0. Aurelio defeated him again, this time via fall (5:20), and his day ended with an 8-3 setback against Samuel Batchelor of Lycoming in the fifth-place match.
First-year Mac Evarts (Millersville, Pa. / Penn Manor) also finished sixth in the 165-pound weight class despite having to medical forfeit his final two matches. He fell to Stephen Jarrell of Johnson and Wales in the opener by a score of 14-1, but then knocked off Tyler Evans of Lycoming, 14-7, before forfeiting his final two matches.
Washington and Lee will now break for the holidays before returning to action on January 4 when it hosts Ohio Northern and Ferrum at 2:00 pm.
-- http://www.generalssports.com --
