BRISTOL, R.I.- The Hawks Wrestling Team totaled 128 points to secure first place in the 11-team RWU Invitational Saturday. Only Wesleyan University tallied more points, but as its conference does not allow an official team team score this early in the season, the Hawks take the championship.
Seven RWU wrestlers placed among the top-six at their respective weights, including sophomore Martin Mitchell (Laurel, Md.) who won the 141 championship. Mitchell went 4-0 on the day beginning with an 11-7 decision over Geroge Robles of the University of Southern Maine. Mitchell went on to defeat Vin deLalla from Wesleyan, 14-11, and Andrew Armstrong of Coast Guard, 10-2. In the championship match, Peter Gilman of USM would fall, 11-6.
Two additional Hawks made the championship of their weight class, Michael Monson (Southington, Conn.) and Nick Cambi (Cohasset, Mass.). Monson, wrestling at 157, met the eventual winner of the tournament's Most Outstanding Lightweight Wrestler Award, Cody Byrd of USM. The two battled to a 3-3 tie through three periods, but a Byrd take down in the first sudden victory period gave Byrd the 5-3 win.
Cambi met MIT's Joe Silverman in the 197 championship bout, which also proved tight throughout. In the end Silverman posted the 3-0 win, giving Cambi a 3-1 record on the day.
RWU junior Nicholas Herrick (Paramus, N.J.) at 149 dropped a tight 9-8 decision early, but bounced back to win the consolation bracket and take third place with an 11-2 decision over Johnson & Wales' Andrew Van Dyke. Herrick finished 7-1 on the day, including three wins by fall.
Also posting a third-place finish for the Hawks was senior Kyle Rodgers (Danbury, Conn.) wrestling at 165. Rodgers pinned his first opponent and posted a 6-0 victory in the second round before falling 6-3 to the eventual champion and Most Outstanding Upperweight Wrestler, Mike Morin of USM. Rodgers rebounded with a 12-1 decision over Alex Shea of Johnson & Wales before pinning Wesleyan's Josh Berkovic at 1:41 to take third place.
The third Hawk to place third was heavyweight Bennett Kissane (Tranquility, N.J.). Like Rodgers, Kissane pinned his first opponent and earned a decision win before falling to the eventual champion. Following the loss, Kissane needed just 40 seconds to pin his next opponent and cruised to third place with a 14-3 win over Jon Flegal of JWU.
The Hawks have little time to rest, as they begin Pilgrim League competition Wednesday when they host the U.S. Coast Guard Academy for a 7:30 match.
Listed below are the final team results and the first, third and fifth place matches at each weight for the 2009 Roger Williams Invitational. Click here for a look at the full brackets.
TEAM RESULTS
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1. Roger Williams
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128
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2. Johnson & Wales
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126
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3. Rhode Island College
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125
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4. Messiah
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119
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5. Southern Maine
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88
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6. Western New England
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67.5
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7. Bridgewater
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52
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8. Coast Guard
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43.5
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9. WPI
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40
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10. MIT
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38.5
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11. Norwich
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34.5
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1ST, 3RD AND 5TH PLACE MATCHES AT EACH WEIGHT:
125-1st Place: Michael Bastante (JWU) 10-7 over Carl Anderson (WPI)
125-3rd Place: Dan Bloom (Wesleyan) 6-3 over Grant Kadokura (MIT)
125-5th Place: Brandon Gauthier (RIC) pinned Spencer Alexander (Messiah) at 0:36
133-1st Place: Travis Drappi (RIC) 4-2 over Alex Labeef (RIC)
133-3rd Place: Anthony Medina (WNEC) pinned Billy Cole (USM) at 5:24
133-5th Place: Maika Nagata (Wesleyan) 8-1 over Steve Hunt (RIC)
141-1st Place: Martin Mitchell (RWU) 11-6 over Peter Gilman (USM)
141-3rd Place: Alex DeHart (Messiah) tech fall over Andrew Armstrong (USCGA)
141-5th Place: Howard Tobochnik (Wesleyan) pinned Roy Marshall (RIC) at 4:28
149-1st Place: Kevin Sutherland (RIC) 5-4 RT; TB2 over John Marsh (BSC)
149-3rd Place: Nick Herrick (RWU) 11-2 over Andrew Van Kyke (JWU)
149-5th Place: Logan Putnam (Messiah) med. Forfeit over Matt Spataro (WNEC)
157-1st Place: Cody Byrd (USM) 5-3 over Mike Monson (RWU)
157-3rd Place: Tyler Howe (WPI) 6-4 over Andrew Snyder (USCGA)
157-5th Place: Matt Cross (Messiah) 7-5 over Dave Bachy (Wesleyan)
165-1st Place: Mike Morin (USM) 3-2 over Trent Zempel (Messiah)
165-3rd Place: Kyle Rodgers (RWU) pinned Josh Berkovic (Wesleyan) at 1:41
165-5th Place: Alex Shea (JWU) 7-6 over Ethan Raymond (BSC)
174-1st Place: Greg Hurd (Wesleyan) 10-3 over Dave Jones (Messiah)
174-3rd Place: Colin Lenhardt (JWU) pinned Kyle Roosa (Wesleyan) at 1:12
174-5th Place: Chris Nadeau (RWU) 6-4 over Davin Okerblom (Messiah)
184-1st Place: Brennan Ward (JWU) 7-3 over Ray Moore (RIC)
184-3rd Place: Jefferson Ajayi (Wesleyan) med. Forfeit over Zack Rolfe (Wesleyan)
184-5th Place: Ray Gauthier (Norwich) med. Forfeit over Jordan Ferguson (Norwich)
197-1st Place: Joe Silverman (MIT) 3-0 over Nick Cambi (RWU)
197-3rd Place: Timmy Hopkins (Messiah) 6-4 over Patrick McCrohan (JWU)
197-5th Place: Luke Erickson (Wesleyan) med. Forfeit over Dave Amrhein (Wesleyan)
285-1st Place: Jamison Sacco (WNEC) 8-0 over Brian Nicoll (RIC)
285-3rd Place: Ben Kissane (RWU) 14-3 over Jon Flegal (JWU)
285-5th Place: Humphrey Swift (JWU) 7-6 over Zane Bachert (Messiah)
Most Outstanding Lightweight Wrestler: Cody Byrd - USM
Most Outstanding Upperweight Wrestler: Mike Morin - USM
