ERIE, Pa. -- Notre Dame pulled off its third straight win at the National Catholic Invitational by earning the 2010 title in a field of five collegiate squads on Saturday. (Results)

Six Falcon grapplers walked away as champions in the event which was hosted by Mercyhurst College. As a team, NDC earned 134.5 points on the strength of six first-place finishes, one second-, on third- and two fourth-place finishes. Notre Dame finished ahead of Gannon-Pa. (118 points), Mercyhurst (117), Seton Hill-Pa. (75.5) and John Carroll (41). The No. 1 (NAIA Coaches' Preseason Poll) Falcons have competed in the National Catholic Invitational every year since the inception of NDC Wrestling in 2006. Notre Dame also won in Erie in 2008 and 2009, making this year's title its third in a row.

#Jeffrey Pelton# (149 pounds), #Thomas Straughn# (157), #Cody Butzer# (174), #Alex Denman# (184), #Derek Foore# and #Orlando Scales# earned titles at the tournament. Pelton, Butzer, Denman and Foore each went 3-0 to claim their victories. In Foore's case, two of his wins came via pins.

“We feel good about winning this tournament,” said Head Coach #Frank Romano#. “This is a good field, and its always great to have this event as an early-season test for our guys.”