West Point Invitational
Christl Arena
West Point, N.Y.
November 8, 1998
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Sophomore Maurice Worthy earned "Outstanding
Wrestler" honors for the second straight year and Scott Siegfried and
Eric Gust also won titles for the Army wrestling team in its season
debut at the West Point Invitational on Sunday in Christl Arena.
Worthy, coming of an outstanding freshman campaign that
culminated in an NCAA Championships berth, breezed to the title in the
174-pound weight class. He opened with consecutive wins by fall over
David Thanos of Johnson & Wales and Mike Morellino of Syracuse, then won
his semifinal match by medical forfeit.
In the finals, Worthy broke open a close bout with a big third
period and defeated Seton Hall's Everett Bell 8-2. Leading 2-1 after two
periods, Worthy scored a quick reversal nine seconds into the third and
also picked up three back points to take a commanding 7-1 lead.
Siegfried, a senior co-captain, earned his first career
tournament title with a 7-3 win over Bucknell's Adam Webb in the
133-pound championship match. Siegfried snapped a 2-2 tie in the final
minute of the bout with a takedown and two-point near-fall.
The heavyweight division featured an all-Army final. Freshman
Eric Gust, seeded sixth, knocked off each of the top three seeds to win
his first collegiate title. Gust picked up his first win with a 5-1
decision over third-seeded Sergey Fedyunin of Boston University, then he
topped Bucknell's Jeremiah Albright 5-2 in the semifinals. In the
championship bout, Gust scored the only takedown of the match 47 seconds
into the third period and held on for a 3-2 win over teammate Joe Kobes,
the No.1 seed.
Army placed a total of eight wrestlers in the finals, including
two more freshmen at 125 and 141 pounds. At 125, T.J. Grider won three
straight two-point decisions, including a 2-0 win over top seed Todd
Boerner of Bucknell in his first career match, to reach the finals.
There, he dropped a 9-6 decision to Mike Snyder of Syracuse. Sophomore
Ben Garner finished third at 125, pinning Boerner in 3:18 in the
consolation final.
At 141, plebe Charles Russ won a 3-1 sudden death decision over
No.1 seed Jerry Barry of Seton Hall in the semifinals, but lost by fall
to John Gregory of Boston University in the championship bout. Army's
Kyle Brennan also placed fourth at 141 pounds.
At 165 pounds, Army junior Troy Yegge lost in the finals, 7-4 to
top seed Brian Pitzer of Bucknell. The match was tied at 4-4 late in
regulation, but Pitzer had the riding time point clinched, then he
scored a takedown with only 13 seconds left to earn the three-point win.
Senior co-captain Dennis Lockhart placed second at 197 pounds,
falling 10-6 to Boston University's Jameel Abdullah in the finals.
Lockhart scored a 15-3 major decision over Jon Hartunian of Syracuse in
his first bout, then turned back Marc Bautis of Seton Hall 7-2 in the
semis.
The 157-pound consolation final also featured an all-Army
matchup, where Ben Celver scored a 7-2 decision over Matt Ross. Other
Cadet placewinners were Joe Letko, third at 184 pounds, and Jeremy
Singleton, fourth at 149.
The Cadets return to action next Saturday, Nov. 14, at the
Colonial Open in Binghamton, N.Y.
125_Mike Snyder, Syracuse 9-6 over T. J. Grider, Army
133_Scott Siegfried, Army 7-3 over Adam Webb, Bucknell
141_John Gregory, Boston U F1:08 over Charles Russ, Army
149_Chris Simmons, Boston U 3-1;tb over Dan Weaver, Bucknell
157_Russell Read, Boston U 9-3 over Ryan Fasnacht, Bucknell
165_Brian Pitzer, Bucknell 7-4 over Troy Yegge, Army
174_Maurice Worthy, Army 8-2 over EVerett Bell, Seton Hall
184_Jason Townsend, Hofstra 14-5 over Ali Abri, Boston U
197_Jameel Abdullah, Boston U 10-6 over Dennis Lockhart, Army
285_Eric Gust, Army 3-2 over Joe Kobes, Army
125_Ben Garner, Army F3:18 over Todd Boerner, Bucknell
133_Mike Settembrina, Seton hall F3:05 over Mark Veltri, Seton Hall
141_Jerry Barry, Seton hall 4-3 over Kyle Brennan, Army
149_John Perna, Seton Hall 8-6 over Jeremy Singleton, Army
157_Ben Celver, Army 7-2 over Matt Ross, Army
165_Dennis Papadatoes, Hofstra 7-3 over Garratt Knutson, Lehigh
174_Israel Cronk, Boston U 7-3 over Jason Bellis, Bucknell
184_Joe Letko, Army 7-3 over Greg Sawyer, Seton Hall
197_Matt Borzio, Bucknell 9-8 over Matt Borzio, Bucknell
285_Sergey Fedyunin, Boston U FF over Jeremiah Albright, Bucknell
Outstandin Wrestler: Maurice Worthy, Army (174)