Nov. 10, 2007

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Erie, Pa. - With three wrestlers taking first and three more finishing in second, the Mercyhurst Lakers dominated the nine-team field to capture top team honors Saturday at the National Catholic Invitational for the second-straight season.

Mercyhurst, also serving as the host for the event, totaled 134 points, finishing well ahead of runner-up Gannon (116) and third-place finisher Notre Dame College (98).

Senior Don Cummings at 149 pounds, senior Hudson Harrison and 165 pounds and red-shirt junior Braxdon Scaletta at 141 pounds all finished in first.

Cummings, the No. 1 seed, took the division for the second-straight year and cruised through the bracket convincingly. In the finals, he pinned No. 2-seeded Zack McKendree of Gannon in 3:09.

The 149-pound class narrowly missed on an all Laker championship final. Brian Pogel reached the semis before bowing to McKendree. Pogel, however, bounced back to defeat Isaac Banks of Belmont Abbey for third place.

Like Cummings, Harrison was the top seeded wrestler in his weight class and needed just two wins to reach the final round. He captured first with a 4-2 decision over third-seeded Mike Mahon of Notre Dame College.

Scaletta entered the invitational as the No. 3 seed, but notched a 20-3 tech fall in his first round bout, won 1-0 in the quarterfinals and reached the finals with a 4-2 decision over John Carroll's Dominic Spitalieri. In the championship round, Scaletta edged Kevin James of Belmont Abbey by an 8-3 score.

The 125-pound division saw a rematch of last year's final with Mercyhurst's No. 2-seeded Payne Lint and Duquesne's John Bittinger, the defending champ, vying for first. Just like in 2006, Bittinger edged Payne with a 3-0 decision to take first place. Mercyhurst freshman Joe McCullough grabbed fifth at 125, as well.

One of the most highly anticipated showdowns of the afternoon occurred at 157 pounds, where Mercyhurst's returning All-American and the defending champ, Andy Lamancusa, squared off against Notre Dame College's Victor Crenshaw, who transferred from Division Cleveland State prior to the season. Lamancusa scored an 8-0 major decision, a 19-3 tech fall and a 7-3 decision to reach the finals, while Crenshaw was equally impressive with two tech falls and a major decision victory.

Crenshaw, who was subsequently named the invitational MVP for his efforts, topped the defending champ by a 9-0 score in the championship round.

At 165 pounds, Mercyhurst's Josh Shields reached the semis before dropping a 3-2 decision to eventual champion, A.J. Sayles of Gannon. Shields, however, responded by taking third place.

Laker junior Trevor Gallo finished second at 197 pounds to Mercyhurst North East's Shane Nolan. The match went into two overtime sessions and Nolan edged Gallo with a 5-4 sudden victory.

The heavyweight division saw the Lakers take places two through six. Mercyhurst entered the day with five wrestlers competing, and Kenny Bluska finished second to Gannon's Frank McGrath. Mike Sullivan placed third, edging freshman teammate Nathan Sharp by a 3-0 score. Junior Orey Hall earned fifth after fellow Laker Rich Froats was forced to withdraw because of an injury.

Also placing for the Lakers was Brian Wolff, who earned fourth at 184 pounds.

Other winners included 133-pounder Jayk Cobbs of Duquesne and Pino Scavella of Gannon.

Mercyhurst travels to Philadelphia for the Keystone Classic on Nov. 18.