McLaughlin wins at 197 as wrestling competes at Ted Reese Invitational
GORHAM, Maine – Darby McLaughlin took the crown at 197 and three other Yellow Jackets placed as the American International College wrestling team finished fifth at the University of Southern Maine's Ted Reese Invitational on Saturday, December 7, scoring 69.5 points.
McLaughlin tore through the competition at 197, with only one bout going the distance in terms of time. He won by technical fall at 3:24 against Trevor O'Connor of Southern Maine, scoring four takedowns and two three-point nearfalls, the last of which ended the match by bringing the score to 18-2. He then pinned Nathan Schobel of Bath Iron Works Apprentice at 1:06 and needed just 0:32 to put Worcester Polytechnic Institute's Nicolas LeSieur's back to the mat before dominating his way to a 14-2 major decision in the title bout against Kevin Pandorf of the Coast Guard Academy.
Tommy Caracciolo placed sixth at 184, winning by pin at 1:26 over Maine Maritime Academy's Gregory Brunk, at 6:11 against WPI's John-Michael Economos, and at 1:28 against Bath's Alex Fogarty.
At 133, Joseph Aldrich snagged third, with a pin at 2:35 against Jason Guglietta of Coast Guard, a 17-1 technical fall against Griffin Norwalt of Vermont State University-Castleton, a tight 3-1 decision over Jake Bennett of Coast Guard, and a pin at 2:35 against Cam Monahan of Plymouth State.
Cqari Bacote had an impressive run at 149 to take fourth, with a win by fall at 6:48 against Southern Maine's Alberto Mendoza, an 8-7 decision against Coast Guard's Mike Edwards, and an 18-7 major decision against Justyce Dale Mercado of Castleton.
Other wrestlers grabbed bout wins as well. AIC had two at 141, as Aaron Morocho pinned WPI's Connell Paxton in 1:21 and Luis Rosa took a 7-3 decision from Castleton's Viktor Banda. Luke Mangiafico scored a 9-3 decision against Blake Sastre of Castleton at 157, while Teghan McConnell pinned Demar Campbell of Southern Maine at 4:26. At 174, Joshua Nieroda pinned Skyler Sturdevant of Castleton in 2:44, while Markys Lissaint snagged two victories, with a 10-3 decision against Colby Celuck and a 10-5 decision against Jake Long, both of Castleton.
AIC next heads to the Midwest Classic on Saturday, December 14.