Wrestlers Place Fifth in Tourney

The Harvard wrestling team continued its resurgence with an impressive showing in this weekend's Sheridan Tournament, held at Lehigh University. The grapplers finished fifth in the 12-team field that included several nationally ranked teams, including Oklahoma and Rider--who finished first and second, respectively.

"The team as a whole wrestled well," sophomore Joel Friedman said. "Given the competition our finish really bodes well for us for the rest of the season."

"We beat a lot of good teams," sophomore Dustin DeNunzio said. "We won three of our four place bouts, so that's a good sign."

The Crimson placed four wrestlers in the top six of the 10 weight classes--DeNunzio placed third in the 126-pound division. Friedman placed third at 134 pounds, captain Steve Gerstung captured fifth place in the 150-pound class and freshman Ed Mosley took second in the 158-pound division.

DeNunzio battled his way to the semifinals before falling to the topseeded and eventual champion Jason Kutz of Lehigh. The Crimson 126-pounder rebounded in the consolation finals, however, and defeat Brett Tullo, 4-3, to capture third.

At 134 pounds, only a closely fought loss to Oklahoma's Franky James in the semifinals kept Friedman from the finals.

"The match could have gone either way," Friedman said.

Friedman, who was seeded sixth in the weight class, won the consolation finals, 7-6, against N.C. State's Ryan Nunamaker.

"Both Joel and Dustin wrestled really well in the semifinals," Gerstung said. "They both could have made it to the finals. Joel kinds got screwed by the ref and Dustin was ahead but got caught in a five-point move."

Gerstung, coming off a third-place finish at the Syracuse Wrestling Classic two weeks ago, won the fifth place bout in the 150-pound division in most impressive fashion--pinning his opponent in 24 seconds.

"He just shot in on me and I reached around and threw him on his back," Gerstung said. "Pins that quick are rare. I just caught him in a move."

In the 158-pound division, Mosley continued his romp through the ranks of collegiate wrestling--battling top-seeded Evan Dolan of Rider in the semifinals and coming away with a victory.

"Ed wrestled an awesome tournament," Friedman said. "He lost a tough one in the finals to a fifth-year senior [Rutger's Mike Kwapniewski]."

Mosley's second place finish comes on the tails of a first place finish at the Syracuse tournament--an impressive start to the college career of last year's junior national champion.

With several noteworthy performances in other weight classes as well, the Crimson looks well on its way to building a solid line-up.

"The enthusiasm is really good," Gerstung said. "The team is pumped and it shows in the way we're wrestling."

The Crimson will take a break from tournament action next week, battling Central Connecticut and Wilkes at Wilkes in two dual meets.

"Wilkes beat us last year," Gerstung said, "but we're expecting to beat them this year. Central Connecticut should be a tougher match, though."