EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – The No. 4 JWU-Providence wrestling team competed at the 56th annual ESU Open Sunday.

Brackets

Junior Christian Murphy placed first at 174 lbs. with a 3-0 win over J. Hill (LINC) in the quarters, a 10-3 triumph over J. Spindler (unattached) in the semis, and an 8-2 win over No. 1 seed Luke Ciampa of East Stroudsburg in the finals.

Senior Thomas DiResta (157 lbs.) went 3-1 and advanced to the finals with wins over Jack Spahn of East Stroudsburg (5-1), Marc Kleyman of Nassau CC (7-1), and Victor MarksJenkings from PVC (11-0). He was defeated by No. 1 seed Kristopher Ketchum of Nassau CC, 19-4, in the finals.

Junior Jordan Suarez, meanwhile, went 3-1 on the day, winning twice via pin and once on a tech fall. He secured wins over Zach Lewis of ESU (17-1) and C. Weaver (unattached) before scoring his biggest win of the day over Iowa State transfer Patrick Noonan of ESU (16-11). The high-scoring affair had Suarez up 16-11 with under a minute left, which was when Suarez caught Noonan on his back for the fall. In the finals, Suarez ran into former JWU All-American Joao Vicente (Team Cape Verdi), who defeated Suarez 10-4.

Freshman Jack Richardson (157 lbs.) – who finished the day 4-1 – received an unlucky draw and pulled Ketchum in his first match. The battle was fierce as they went into a 3-3 tie going into the third period, where Ketchum scored a takedown and backs to steal the win. Based on tournament format, Richardson could finish no higher than fifth, and he did just that by winning four-straight matches – two via pin and two via tech falls.

Junior Zachary Weiner (149 lbs.) went 2-2 on the day to take fourth place. Weiner went pin and tech fall to advance to the semifinals, where he met Vincente. In the third-place battle, Weiner had the unenviable task of taking down Noonan. 

Sophomore Louis Paradiso went 2-2 to land a sixth-place finish at 174 lbs.

Next weekend, the Wildcats will send 14 starters to No. 8 Wis.-Eau Claire. Last season, JWU defeated the BlueGolds 25-13 at the Wildcat Center. The remaining Wildcats will compete at the RWU Invitational in Bristol, R.I.

Contributions from Bryan Allen, JWU Associate Head Coach