The Gannon University wrestling team competed in the Pennsylvania Scholastic Athletic Conference (PSAC) championships Saturday at Bloomsburg University. The Knights finished eighth among 12 teams, which included four NCAA Division I programs.
The Knights finished fourth out of the eight NCAA Division II teams that competed in the tournament.
Four Gannon wrestlers placed in the tournament including sophomore Eric Lewandowski at the 149-pound weight class (fifth place), redshirt sophomore Garret Smith at 157 pounds (fifth place), true freshman Ryan Morris at 197 pounds (sixth place) and sophomore heavyweight Nick Budd (fourth place).
Lewandowski compiled a 3-2 record on his way to earning a fifth-place finish at 149 pounds. Both of Lewandowski’s losses came against Division I opponents.
Lewandowski said it was a little short of what he had expected to accomplish, but he noted his experience will help him in the future.
“It’s hard to be disappointed being that it was my first competition, and I’m confident going into Indianapolis,” Lewandowski said.
At 157 pounds, Smith compiled a 3-2 record, which was good enough for fifth place. Smith is currently ranked sixth in NCAA Division II Super Region One.
Morris displayed a sign of good things to come as the true freshman recorded two wins via pinning his opponents on his way to a sixth-place finish in his first PSAC championship tournament. Morris had only three career matches heading into the tournament.
Budd was able to improve upon his sixth- place finish in last year’s PSAC championship as he tallied a 3-2 record to place fourth.
Budd said he was pleased with his performance.
“I feel like I wrestled well,” Budd said. “Better there than I have at the previous two tournaments we went to. The PSAC is a tough tournament to place at, so I’m pretty happy with the way I wrestled overall.”
The Knights will wrap up competition for this semester as they head to the Midwest Classic in Indianapolis for a two-day tournament Saturday and Sunday. The team will look to improve upon its 2013 performance, when the Knights finished 22nd out of 29 teams.
CHASE MANTINI
