ITHACA, N.Y. – The Norwich University wrestling team opened its season Friday afternoon, competing in the 11-team Ithaca College Invitational. The Cadets exited the first day of competition in ninth place, racking up 21.5 team points – Johnson & Wales (R.I.) currently leads all teams with 43.5 team points. 

Competing at the 133-pound weight class, sophomore Jacob Forsman (Voorhees, N.J.) had a strong season-opener for the Cadets, racking up 7.5 team points to lead his team. He opened the day with a technical fall victory over Ithaca's Justin Ludel before falling to Ian Tolotti of Springfield by a 10-6 decision. 

In the consolation bracket, Forsman would defeat his teammate, freshman Shale Ring (Medham, N.J.), by pinfall before taking down Roger Moyer from Springfield in the third round of consolation competition. He would finish the day with a 3-1 overall record, leading the Cadets in overall match victories. 

Junior Jonathan Graziane (Beekmantown, N.Y.) earned three team points for the Cadets. He dropped a 12-6 decision to Ayers at the 141-pound bracket before capturing back-to-back victories in the consolation round. He ultimately fell to Derek Bohle by major decision, 17-6, in the third round of consolation play. 

Senior David Rogers (Marlborough, Mass.) picked up three team points for Norwich at the 184-pound bracket, winning by major decision (12-3) over Nicholas Kovacs of Johnson & Wales (R.I.). Sophomore Connor Drouin (O'Fallon, Ill.) also notched three points, winning by pinfall in the championship round in 2:21 minutes, before falling to Sam Weinger from the Rochester Institute of Technology in the title match. Drouin would later drop a 4-2 decision in the consolation round to Kade Andrews of Oswego State. 

Junior Frank Girolamo (Stoughton, Mass.) picked up two victories at the 285 lb. weight class, winning a 5-2 bout by decision and capturing a 5-4 tiebreaker victory over Keith Houghtaling of Western New England. Freshman Brandon DesFosses (Methuen, Mass.) and Benjamin Swanson (Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.) would also record strong performances for Norwich, posting 2-0 records at 157 pounds. 

Junior Donte Jones (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) would also make it to the championship round in the 174-pound matches before falling in the second match of the afternoon. 

Norwich returns to action Saturday, Nov. 5 at 9:30 a.m. for day two of the Ithaca Invitational.