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Norwich University

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Men's Wrestling

Wrestling: Forsman Wins Weight Class as Norwich Place 7th at RIT Invitational

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Norwich University wrestling team competed against the top wrestling programs in the region at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Invitational Saturday, Dec. 5.

Norwich scored 89 points to place seventh out of 12 teams. John Carroll University won the team title with 146 points followed by Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) with 129.5 points. Wesleyan finished third with 108.5 points with Oneonta State in fourth with 106 points and the host, RIT in fifth with 104.5 points to round out the top five.

The Cadets were led by freshman Jacob Forsman (Voorhees, N.J.) who claimed the tournament title at 125 pounds. Forsman was one of five Norwich grapplers to finish sixth place or better in their weight class.

Forsman picked up his first win on the day with a 13-4 major decision over RIT's George Bardanis before pinning Justin Walker (Thiel) to advance into the quarterfinals.  Forsman then pinned Michael Boyle (Alfred State) in the quarterfinals before picking up his fifth win on the day with a 11-2 major decision over Mitch Tikkanen (John Carroll) for the final show down against top-seeded Brian Amato (WPI). Forsman would take on Amato, who finished third in the NCAA Nationals last year, and battled his way through three periods for the 4-1 victory to take the title.

Freshman Sean Randles (Las Vegas, Nev.) had a successful showing in the 133 pound bracket. He started the day with a sudden victory over Thiel's Giuliano Graziosi, 6-4, before picking up another win with a 15-0 technical fall over Edwin Uruchima (Alfred State). Randles would advance to the semifinals after his opponent ended the match with an injury. Looking for the title, Randles came up short against RIT's Jake Sepor and was bumped down to the consolation bracket. From there, Randles battled his way through once again, picking up a win in the consolation semifinal round after his opponent forfeited before settling for a fourth place spot after WPI's Stephen Jendritz won the tiebreaker victory for the 6-5 decision.

Randles' teammate Chase Jefferys (Topsfield, Mass.) also had a strong showing in the 133 weight class. Jefferys won his first match with a pin over Hans Schmieder (Alfred State) before falling to Jendritz in the second round. Jefferys would win his next three consolation matches, picking up a 20-14 decision over Corey Forlenza (Scranton) and pinning RIT's Cortez Harris to advance onto the fourth round of the consolation bracket. Jefferys' would advance onto the next round after a medical issue forced his opponent to forfeit the match, but the winning streak ended for Jefferys' after being pinned by Andrew Ellis of WPI, who would then lose to Jendritz.

Freshman Dakota Lewis (Rockdale, Ga.) also had a strong performance at the 149 bracket for the Cadets. Lewis came up short to Carter Armendarez (Wesleyan) in the opening round on a 10-4 decision but bounced back in the consolation bracket, winning his next four matches. After a bye, Lewis would pick up a pair of wins on decisions with a 7-4 victory over his own teammate James Duncan (Brewster, N.Y.) and a 4-2 win over Austin Prince (RIT). Lewis would win one more match over Dan Murphy (Oneonta State) in sudden victory, 10-8, before ending the day with a 6-0 loss to John Carroll's Anthony Trocchio.

Junior David Rogers (Marlborough, Mass.) represented the Cadets in the 184 pound class. Rogers dropped his first match of the day to Ryan Marszal (Oneonta State) on a 6-2 decision and was bumped to the consolation bracket. After a bye, Rogers won the next three matches, two on decisions over RIT's Josh Goodman and Alfred State' Bradley Haggerty before defeating SUNY Oswego's Sean Maloney in an 18-7 major decision. Rogers' streak came to a halt against Dan D'Agostini (Scranton) in the consolation quarterfinals on an 8-0 decision and finished in sixth place after a pin fall to Wesleyan's Dominic Pirraglia.

In the 285 pound bracket, two wrestlers clinched the fourth and fifth spot for Norwich. Sophomores Paul Kotler (Orlando, Fla.) and Frank Girolamo (Stoughton, Mass.) would start the day with a bye in the first round before Kotler was bumped to the consolation bracket after being pinned by WPI's Nick Day. Girolamo picked up a pair of wins in the championship bracket, defeating SUNY Oswego's Kade Andrews and WPI's Austin Shrewsbury on decisions, before falling to top-seeded Eric Calimano (Scranton) 3-1.

In the consolation bracket, Kotler recorded his two wins with a 7-4 decision over Tyler Hendzel (Thiel) and a tight 3-2 decision over Rilley Andrews (Alfred State). Kotler then edged Shrewsbury, who was bumped out of the championship bracket by Girolamo, on a 3-1 decision before losing to RIT's Sam Weinger, 14-2, on a major decision. Kotler would get revenge over Day, who pinned him earlier in the day, for the fifth place spot with a 3-2 victory.

Girolamo was then bumped down to the consolation bracket and faced Weinger for the third place spot. Girolamo would earn the fourth place spot after coming up short on a 10-7 decision to Weinger.

Norwich will take a break for the holidays and will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016 on the road in a quad-meet against Johnson & Wales, Coast Guard Academy and host, Western New England.

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Players Mentioned

James Duncan

James Duncan

Senior
Jacob Forsman

Jacob Forsman

Freshman
Frank Girolamo

Frank Girolamo

Sophomore
Chase Jefferys

Chase Jefferys

Sophomore
Paul Kotler

Paul Kotler

Sophomore
Dakota Lewis

Dakota Lewis

Freshman
Sean Randles

Sean Randles

Freshman
David Rogers

David Rogers

Junior

Players Mentioned

James Duncan

James Duncan

Senior
Jacob Forsman

Jacob Forsman

Freshman
Frank Girolamo

Frank Girolamo

Sophomore
Chase Jefferys

Chase Jefferys

Sophomore
Paul Kotler

Paul Kotler

Sophomore
Dakota Lewis

Dakota Lewis

Freshman
Sean Randles

Sean Randles

Freshman
David Rogers

David Rogers

Junior