Hearn Wrestles to Second Place; Lions Take Ninth at RIT

ROCHESTER, NY – The Penn State Behrend wrestling team finished ninth out of 15 teams with a total of 74 team points at the RIT Invitational hosted by Rochester on Saturday.

Key Moments:

* The Lions totaled 69 points thanks to four wrestlers placing on the day
* Peyton Hearn (Conneaut, PA/Conneaut) was the runner up at 149, down a weight class from last tournament
* Hearn recorded four straight wins to get to the championship bout with a technical fall, pin, medical forfeit and a major decision
* The senior fell to Tyler Rossini of Oswego, 4-2, to finish second overall and earn 20.5 team points
* Sebastian Chiesa (West Springfield, PA/Northwestern) and Cole Neil (Saint Marys, PA/Saint Marys) also placed for Behrend
* At 125, Chiesa picked up a fall to start and then dropped to the consolation bracket
* Chiesa won the next three bouts, two by technical fall, to advance to the consolation championship
* Chiesa placed third overall with a 14-9 decision over Luke Heimbach of Penn Tech* Neil, wresting at 133, finished with a 5-1 record for third place
* Neil registered two falls, a major decision and a decision before the consolation championship bout
* Neil defeated Kaden Ware of Penn Tech for third place in overtime
* Alexander Wisdom (Plantation, FL/American Heritage) tallied a 2-2 record on the day at 133, he won by major decision and pinfall
* Justin Hockenberger (Spencerport, NY/Spencerport) tallied his first win in a Behrend wrestling uniform, pinning teammate Matthew Melchior (Lawrence Township, NJ/Lawrence) at 174
* Ryan Gildersleeve (DuBois, PA/DuBois) finished 3-2 at 174, registered two pins and then falling in the consolation fourth round
* Matthew Caldwell (Wheatfield, NY/Starpoint) took sixth after having to drop out due to a medical reason

Up Next:

* The Lions will host Waynesburg in their first home dual match of the season on Friday at 7 p.m.