New College of Florida Men's Wrestling earned two top-five individual finishes Saturday at the Pepsi Patriot Open in Corbin, Kentucky, the first tournament in program history.
Talon Maple placed fourth at 157 pounds, while Michael Kersey finished fifth at 149 pounds in the Open division. Both wrestlers posted 5-2 records and advanced to the championship semifinals.
The Mighty Banyans combined for a 31-38 individual record with 19 wrestlers competing across the Open and Fresh/Soph divisions. Merrick Miller, Jaden Weisgal and Reagan McCullough added three victories apiece.
TOURNAMENT NOTES
MAPLE TAKES FOURTH: Maple opened with an 8-7 decision before earning an 18-3 technical fall over Cumberland's Joe Parisi and advancing by medical forfeit against Life's Elvis Solis. Maple defeated Lindsey Wilson's Kiowa Vines by 19-2 technical fall to reach the semifinals. Following a loss to Cleary's Adam Polk, Maple pinned Cornerstone's Dylan McLean in 6:17 to advance to the third-place match, where he fell 9-8 to Life's Braylan Cosper.
KERSEY EARNS FIFTH: Kersey won his first four matches at 149 pounds, opening with a 16-0 technical fall over Marian's Gunner Butt and a fall in 2:37 against Rochester. Kersey followed with decisions over Southeastern, 4-0, and Life's Dante Olivero, 5-4, to reach the semifinals. After losses in the championship and consolation semifinals, Kersey secured fifth place by forfeit against Montreat.
MILLER WINS THREE: Miller finished 3-2 at 165 pounds and reached Consolation Round 4. Following an opening loss, Miller recorded a fall in 2:45 against Rochester, a 10-0 major decision against Campbellsville and a 4-1 decision against Cornerstone.
WEISGAL ADVANCES THROUGH CONSOLATIONS: Weisgal went 3-2 at 141 pounds, recording a fall in 3:55 against Briar Cliff. Weisgal added a 10-2 major decision against Rochester and a victory by disqualification against Cornerstone before his tournament ended by medical forfeit in Consolation Round 5.
MCCULLOUGH REACHES QUARTERFINALS: McCullough posted a 3-2 record at heavyweight. McCullough pinned WVU Tech's William Stricklin in 38 seconds and advanced by default against Rochester's Jeff Blair to reach the championship quarterfinals. McCullough later earned a medical-forfeit victory before his tournament ended in Consolation Round 5.
FUENTES RECORDS TWO VICTORIES: Jacob Fuentes finished 2-2 at 141 pounds, opening with an 18-2 technical fall against Cleary. Fuentes added a 10-4 decision against Reinhardt and reached Consolation Round 4.
LEGRAND, RODIER AND VIERA PICK UP WINS: Angel Legrand earned a 14-5 major decision against Reinhardt at 133 pounds. TJ Rodier recorded a fall in 2:28 against Andrew College at 141 pounds, while Andres Viera posted a 15-7 major decision against Truett McConnell at 149 pounds. All three finished 1-2 and reached Consolation Round 4.
SANCHEZ, HUTCHINS AND GRANT ADD VICTORIES: Andres Sanchez earned a 7-4 decision against Briar Cliff at 157 pounds and reached Consolation Round 3. Aiden Hutchins recorded a 5-3 decision against Rochester at 165 pounds before finishing in Consolation Round 2. Justin Grant earned a 15-2 major decision against Cleary at 174 pounds, reaching the championship quarterfinals and Consolation Round 4. Each finished 1-2.
JOHNSON AND GOODWIN REACH FRESH/SOPH QUARTERFINALS: Jeremy Johnson finished 2-2 at 141 pounds, pinning Montreat's Jessie Catolster-Hernandez in 1:02 and earning a 13-4 major decision against Southwestern Michigan. Simon Goodwin went 1-2 at 165 pounds, recording a fall in 3:49 against Pikeville. Both reached the championship quarterfinals and finished in Consolation Round 4.
BIRRIEL EARNS FALL: Daniel Birriel Jr. recorded a fall in 3:44 against Truett McConnell in the Fresh/Soph 141-pound bracket. Birriel finished 1-2 and reached Consolation Round 2.
FOUR MORE COMPETE: Grady Woodard finished 0-2 at Open 133 pounds, reaching Consolation Round 3, while Julian Smith went 0-2 at Open 157 pounds and reached Consolation Round 2. Antonio Daquep finished 0-2 at Fresh/Soph 149 pounds, ending in Consolation Round 1, and Bryce Jackson went 0-2 at Fresh/Soph 197 pounds, ending in the consolation preliminary round.
BY THE NUMBERS
31: Combined individual victories for the Mighty Banyans.
19: NCF wrestlers who competed in the program's first tournament.
9: Victories by fall.
4: Victories by technical fall.
0:38: Time of McCullough's first-round fall at heavyweight.
Up Next: New College of Florida visits RV St. Thomas for duals Thursday, Nov. 12, in Miami Gardens, Florida. Wrestling begins at 6 p.m.
