COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Behind four individual champions, the Ursinus men's wrestling team won the Will Abele Invitational on Saturday afternoon.
Juniors
Andrew Schaen (141),
Braden Kmak (157),
Sean Cowan (197) and
Mohamed Abdelatty (285) each won their respective weight classes for the Bears. Ursinus totaled 196.5 team points to claim the team title, with Western New England (168) finishing second and Nassau Community College (154) taking third. Alfred State (131) placed fourth, and Norwich University (128) rounded out the top five.
Schaen impressed for the Bears at 141 pounds, totaling one fall and three victories by technical fall to reach the finals. He opened with a pair of takedowns before earning a pin over Western New England's Trevor Young at the 2:25 mark of the first period. Next, Schaen tallied a 16-1 tech fall victory over Alfred State's Corn Griffin and a 17-2 win against Norwich's Aidan Morgan to reach the semifinals. Against Shenandoah's Sean Rinebolt, Schaen recorded four takedowns in a 17-2 victory before receiving a forfeit in the finals against top-seeded Nicholas Adams of Western New England to win the bracket.
At 157 pounds, Kmak continued his stellar start to the season, finishing with a perfect 5-0 record en route to the individual title. He opened with three straight victories by fall, including a second-period pin of eighth-seeded David Lisk of Western New England. In the semifinals, Kmak faced an 11-9 deficit entering the third period but outscored Norwich's Gannon White 5-0 in the final frame to earn a 14-11 decision. During the match, Kmak tallied an escape, takedown and riding-time point to complete the comeback. Against John De La Rosa in the finals, Kmak jumped out to an 8-3 lead and cruised to a 17-8 major decision to secure the title.
Cowan, the top seed in the 197-pound bracket, tallied a first-period pin over Shenandoah's Daniel Basil-Baker in the round of 32. Next, Cowan recorded consecutive falls over Wesleyan's William VanVleet and Warren Little to reach the semifinals. Against Alfred State's Hunter LaVigne, Cowan used three reversals and two takedowns in a 20-5 tech fall victory. In the championship bout, he collected a first-period takedown and an escape to earn a 5-2 decision over Camden County's Anthony Evangelista to claim the 197-pound title.
Abdelatty became the final Bears champion at 285 pounds behind three first-period pins and two victories by tech fall. He opened with a pin over Alfred State's Colton Hall at the 1:02 mark before pinning Nassau's Ernesto Cordova in just 27 seconds to reach the quarterfinals. After pinning Wilkes' Andy Perez at the 1:04 mark, Abdelatty reached the finals with an 18-1 tech fall over fourth-seeded Michael Diorio of Wesleyan. Against second-seeded Rory Nolan of Norwich, Abdelatty tallied a 17-2 tech fall at the 6:01 mark to win the heavyweight bracket. Nolan is ranked fourth in Region I by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
Senior
Anthony Cerulli (174) and junior
Evan Shriberg (149) rounded out the Bears' lineup with third- and fourth-place finishes, respectively. Cerulli collected a 25-second fall over Shenandoah's Robert Keener in the round of 16 and advanced to the semifinals with a fall at the 1:08 mark over Utica's Seth Richardson. After falling by tech fall in the semifinals, Cerulli responded with a first-period fall over Alfred's Chris Herriman to finish third.
At 149 pounds, Shriberg defeated the No. 4 seed, Matt Bonato of Utica, by a 16-1 tech fall and advanced to the quarterfinals with a 13-2 major decision against Wesleyan's Mike Cetrulo. Next, Shriberg defeated fifth-seeded Seth McGrew of Emmanuel by a 6-3 decision. After falling to the top seed in the semifinals, Shriberg lost by tech fall in the third-place bout to finish fourth.
The Bears return to action Thursday, January 22nd, when they travel to Merchant Marine Academy for a Centennial Conference dual at 7 p.m.
