WAYNESBURG, PA. – The Apprentice School wrestling team returned to action on Saturday in a loaded Waynesburg University Invitational where five wrestlers finished in the top six as the Builders took seventh place.
NCAA Division III seventh-ranked Olivet College won the event with 198.5 points, followed by NCAA Division II West Liberty University with 131 in the 12-school event. Apprentice School scored 79 points to trail Mercyhurst Northeast by two points.
Sophomore Ian Jones was the highest finisher for the Builders as he took second at heavyweight. The Painesville, Ohio native went 3-1 on the day opening with a pair of decisions winning 4-0 and 4-3 to advance to the semifinals. In that match he took on the hosts Brandon Fedorka and scored a win by fall after trailing 2-0 midway in the second period. The championship match saw Jones lose a hard fought 3-2 decision to Mike Carpenter of West Liberty University.
Freshman Phillip Porto took third place at 157 pounds today finishing with a 4-1 record. He opened with a pair of wins by fall and advanced to the semifinals with an 8-4 decision over Welles Sakamar of Johns Hopkins. In the semis, he took a 16-7 loss to eventual champion Sam Lombardo of the hosts Waynesburg. For third place, he defeated Art Hobley of West Liberty 7-5.
Senior Ty Ford started his season going 3-2 at 125 pounds to finish fourth. He opened with a 16-0 tech fall win over Joe Wagstaff of West Liberty and then defeated Aaron Smith of Nercyhurst Northeast 6-2 to advance to the semifinals. In that match he gave top-seeded and eventual champion Paul Bewak of Johns Hopkins his closest match of the day losing 2-1. After defeating teammate Shane Smith to advance to the third place match, Ford lost to Aaron Smith by fall.
Shane Smith took fifth place at 125 pounds for his best tournament finish of the year going 3-2, while sophomore Justin Martz was also 3-2 at 174 pounds to take sixth rounding out the Builder place-winners.
Apprentice School now hits the mat again on Friday morning when they'll compete in the 33rd annual Virginia Duals at the Hampton Coliseum. They'll open at either 9am or 11 am as pairings for the event will be announced on Tuesday.