AU wrestling was victorious at the Clarion Open over the weekend, with three of their athletes placing in the top two for their weight class.
AU junior Steve Fittery defeated Penn State University’s Jame Vollrath in the finals by a score of 13-4. He was a perfect 5-0 on the day at 157 pounds. He also took down Josh Fitch of Lehigh University, Issac Fagbuyi of American International University, Scott Sechler of Bucknell University and Hadley Harrison of Clarion University.
To go along with Fittery’s win, Sophomore Thomas Williams went 3-1 in the tournament. Williams finished second for his weight class, weighing in at 133 pounds. He defeated Devin Cook of Clarion, Sean Brown of University at Buffalo and Brandon Sansom of Washington and Jefferson University. His only blemish came when AU fell to conference rival Jordan Thome of the Army Academy 3-1.
Senior Mingo Grant was the only other Eagle to finish on the podium of the event. Weighing in at 285 pounds, Mingo went 4-1 on the day. His victories featured wins over Carl Bucholz of Rutgers University and Devin Cook of Clarion. He fell in the finals by a score of 8-4 of Daniel Craig of Lock Haven University.
The victory does not count toward their overall record, as it was an exhibition tournament. The red, white and blue will open up their regular reason November 15th at the ACC Challenge in Chapel Hill, N.C. AU has had at least one All-American wrestler every season since 2004.
Wrestling has AU’s only National Championship in school history. Alumus Josh Glenn claimed the title in 2007, defeating Kurt Backes of Iowa State.
You can reach this staff writer at atomlinson@theeagleonline.com.
