Wrestling Snags Second at RIT Invitational

12/5/2021 12:14:00 AM | By: Joe Ginley '16, SID

Jarrod Brezovec rolled to the championship at 141.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- It was a narrow battle between John Carroll University and host Rochester Institute of Technology for the RIT Invitational crown.

In a hard-fought battle, the Tigers managed to squeak past the Blue Streaks, with 168.5 team points to JCU's 150.5.

Highlights abounded from the competition, which featured some of the nation's finest wrestlers. Most notably, Andrew Perelka and Jarrod Brezovec won their weight classes, while Luke Reicosky dueled the No. 1 wrestler in the country for the 157-pound title.

Perelka (133 pounds) opened the day with a bye before conquering his first foe in 45 seconds. The Brecksville-Broadview Heights native tackled his next opponent by tech fall, 19-2, and advanced to the championship via an 8-0 major decision. The title bout didn't feature much intrigue, as Perelka downed his opponent by fall at 1:45.

Brezovec (141) also made quick work of his opponents, with the narrowest win coming by 10 points. The Aurora native roared to an 11-1 major decision to start, following with a 17-1 tech fall. A 17-6 major decision propelled him to the championship, where he bested RIT's Chris Horton by a 17-1 tech fall.

Two of the country's top grapplers did battle at 157 pounds, as a primetime matchup between Luke Reicosky and RIT's Kaidon Winters pitted the No. 2 and No. 1 wrestlers in the country in the championship bout. After Reicosky won two major decision wins, tallied two pins, and won a bout in a tiebreaker, he came up against Winters in the championship.

The match proved to be one of the tournament's best wars. Winters managed to eke past Reicosky in sudden victory overtime, 3-1. It was a big match, despite the result for Reicosky.

Daniel Devera claimed third place for the day at 174. The freshman cruised to the semifinals with two tech fall victories and an 8-3 decision. But then the youngster ran into trouble in the semis, losing via fall. Devera fought back, besting RIT's Zach Stedeford with a pin at 1:22 and then upending Alfred State's Mike Galton with a 6-1 decision.

Patrick McGraw may have made bronze at 165, but couldn't compete in the third place match due to the NCAA's single day 6-match rule. The Saint Ignatius grad captured a pin win and then a 14-5 major decision before losing in the quarterfinal. McGraw won his next three consolation matches, one by tech fall and two by decisions. But after his 4-1 win over Isaac Mathews of Oswego State, McGraw had to bow out for the day.

Kyle Murray looked good at 133 pounds. He started with a pin win, and then claimed a narrow 4-2 decision. The Dublin, Ohio native won his quarterfinal match by pin before succumbing in the semifinal in a 6-2 decision. But he wrestled back and won a decision of 7-2 to get to the third place match. Unfortunately, Murray couldn't get his offense going in the contest, losing a 2-0 decision.

Anthony Rizzo also managed a fourth-place effort. The freshman conquered his first three foes, opening with two pins and an 8-1 decision. But the eventual 184 champ, Thiel's Bryce McCloskey, sent Rizzo to the consolations with an 11-0 major decision. Rizzo came back with a 6-0 win over RIT's Trevor Snow, but was blanked in the third place battle 3-0.

Ryan Forrest (149) and Jesse Kanatzar (197) snagged a combined 25 team points with fifth-place finishes at the tournament.

Following the strong effort in Rochester, the Blue Streaks have a Florida trip to look forward to. The Blue & Gold head to the Citrus Invitational after Christmas in what should be a great journey to the Sunshine State.

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