Results

The New York University wrestling team opened its 2016-17 campaign at the Monarch Invitational, hosted by King's College, in Wilkes-Barre, PA, on Saturday, November 5.

NYU finished the 12-team event in fifth place, just one half point behind York College (PA). Roger Williams University and SUNY Cortland finished in first and second, respectively, while Wilkes University was the third-place finisher.

"As a team there are a lot of positive things to take away from today," said NYU Senior Assistant Coach Corey Luce. "Our guys wrestled tough for the most part, but as expected we still have plenty to work on to improve and get us to where we want to be."

Leading the way for NYU were Blaise Benderoth (165 pounds) and John Messinger (174 pounds), who each took home individual titles. Benderoth finished his first day in an NYU singlet with a perfect 5-0 record and beat Brendan Dent of SUNY Cortland 5-2 in the championship bout. Messinger was also 5-0 on the day, defeating a SUNY Cortland grappler (JP Puca) to win the title. The senior captain won his championship bout 9-6.

"John and Blaise both had great tournaments and very solid performances to start the year," added Luce.

Raymond Jazikoff was NYU's third finalist on the day, finishing with a 4-1 record and second-place honors at 157 pounds. His only loss was a 16-12 defeat in the 157-pound championship to Ty Herzog of Roger Williams.

"Raymond fell a little short in the end, but gave a great effort," concluded Luce. "I'm confident he will keep improving as we move forward."

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:

- Will Crisco and Evan Drill both had successful NYU debuts, placing in the 141-pound bracket. Drill finished in third place, while Crisco earned fifth-place honors. Crisco fell into the consolation bracket after falling 1-0 to Gregory Warner of York College (PA). Warner came into the weekend ranked #1 in the nation by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA). Crisco's other loss was a medical forfeit to Drill in the consolation semifinals.

- Sam Schwartzapfel (165 pounds) went 4-2 on the day and finished in fifth place.

- The final NYU wrestler to place was Nick Matthews (149 pounds), who finished the day 3-3 and took home sixth-place honors.

The grapplers will return to action next Saturday, November 12, when they travel to the College of Mount Saint Vincent, in Riverdale, NY, for the New York vs. Pennsylvania duals. NYU's first of four matches at the event is slated for noon against Wilkes.