ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Notre Dame rode the wave of five first-place finishes and 11 falls to claim the team title in the 43rd Annual Rochester Institute of Technology (R.I.T.) Wrestling Invitational. The No. 10-ranked Falcons finished with 167.5 points, more than 70 points better than the second-place finisher, Oswego State (N.Y.). NDC neighbor John Carroll finished third.
Junior Adam Koballa (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked No. 1 in the NAIA at 141, led the way for NDC by winning the 141-pound title en route to being named Invitational M.V.P. Koballa finished the tournament with a record of 5-0, pinning his first three opponents. His overall record for the season now stands at 9-2.
Freshman Jeff Pelton (Bellevue, Ohio), sophomore Thomas Straughn (Massillon, Ohio), senior Victer Crenshaw (Cincinnati, Ohio), and senior Chris Tripp (Cleveland, Ohio) all picked up individual titles as well.
Pelton remained undefeated on the season, winning the 149-pound title. Pelton went 4-0 on the day with one pin, and is now 9-0 in his freshman season.
Straughn won the 157-pound title, going 4-0 on the day. Straughn, ranked No. 8 in the nation, improved his season record to 9-1.
Crenshaw continued his stellar Falcon career by picking up another title. The No. 3-ranked wrestler went 4-0 with two falls in the 165-pound weight class. That performance improved his season record to 8-1.
Tripp won the 197-pound crown by going 3-0 with two pins of his own. Tripp's overall record now improves to 5-2.
NDC also had two second-place finishers, two thirds, one fourth, and two fifths. Freshman Paul Rose (Cambridge, Ohio) placed second at133, going 3-1 with one pin. Sophomore Kurt Wolff (Genoa, Ohio) picked up the silver trophy in the 174-pound weight class. Wolff went 2-1 in his bracket.
No. 6-ranked sophomore Tyler Savage (Carlisle, Ohio) placed third at 125. Savage went 6-1 Saturday, and is now 11-3 on the year. Freshman Don Stocum (Kirtland, Ohio) placed third in the heavyweight division in his Falcon debut.
Senior Jason Spencer (Mayfield, Ohio) gave the Falcons two placers in the 165-pound weight class, picking up a fourth-place finish.
Sophomore Mark Smilek (Massillon, Ohio) and freshman Alex Denman (Painesville, Ohio) placed fifth in the 174-pound and 184-pound weight classes, respectively.
Overall, NDC had nine wrestlers seeded within their individual brackets, including Crenshaw, Koballa, Pelton, and Straughn who were all top seeds in their weight classes.
“We came to wrestle today,” said head coach Frank Romano. “We had a long lay-off between matches, but everyone was on the top of their games today.”
The Falcons make their home debut next Sunday (Dec.14) as they host Mount Union at Murphy Gymnasium. Match time is set for 1:00 p.m.
NOTES FROM THE NEST …
TOURNEY TRIUMPHS: Saturday's team title was the Falcons' second invitational title of the season. NDC also won the National Catholic Invitational (NCI) last month. … Crenshaw, Pelton, Straughn, and Tripp won titles in both events. Wolff placed second at the NCI. Koballa and Savage both placed third.
BEASTS OF THE EAST: Along with being ranked No. 10 nationally, the Falcons are ranked no. 2 in the East Region of the NAIA. Seven individual Falcons are ranked in the region as well. Koballa (141-pound) and Crenshaw (165-pound) are ranked No. 1. Savage (125-pound), Straughn (157-pound), and Wolff (174-pound) are ranked No. 2. Pelton (149-pound) is ranked No. 5, and Denman (184-pound) is ranked No. 6. (All ratings based on the Dec. 2 NAIA Coaches' Poll.)
