LHU Wrestling 2nd at Brockport/Oklahoma Invitational
BROCKPORT, N.Y. – Dan Neff (Quarryville, Pa./Solanco) and Fred Garcia (Donora, Pa./Ringgold) both picked up individuals titles on Saturday, leading the Lock Haven University wrestling team to a second-place finish at the 16th annual Brockport/Oklahoma Invitational.
Neff and Garcia’s individual crowns highlighted a sensational day of wrestling for the Bald Eagles (154 points), who battled No. 21 Oklahoma (173.5 points) – the tournament champions, all day long. Kent State was third with 120 points.
Neff (149) and Garcia (184) went a perfect 4-0 on the way to their respective titles.
Both Bobby Rehm (Lancaster, Pa./Penn Manor) and Phil Sprenkle (Seven Valleys, Pa./Dallastown) finished second. Rehm was 3-1 at 141 pounds and Sprenkle was 2-1 at 197.
Kaleb LeMaire (Rehoboth Beach, Del./Caesar Rodney), Ronnie Perry (Christiana, Pa./Solanco) and Elias Biddle(Turbotville, Pa./Warrior Run) all placed third for the Bald Eagles.
A trio of Bald Eagles finished fourth, including Aaron McKinney (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny), Travis Moyer(Orwigsburg, Pa./Blue Mountain) and Adam Mackie (Bechtelsville, Pa./Brandywine Heights) at 165, 174 and 184, respectively.
Jake Field (South Elgin, Ill./Marmion Academy), Cody Wheeler (Towanda, Pa./Towanda) and Tyler Wood (West Chester, Pa./West Chester-Rustin) were sixth at 125, 133, and 174, respectively.
Tanner Sutton (Houston, Pa./Chartiers-Houston), Dillon Gavlock (Mill Hall, Pa./Central Mountain) and Brad Emerick(Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Coughlin) rounded out the day with seventh-place finishes at 149, 165 and 285, respectively.
Neff, the top-seed at 149, picked up four wins on the way to the title. He opened the way with two straight majors and beat Army’s Andrew Mendel 6-2 in the finals.
Garcia, the top-seed at 184, improved to 5-0 on the season with four wins Saturday. Garcia started the day with a pin and tech fall, before earning a hard-fought, 7-6 victory over the Sooners’ Greg Wilson in the title bout.
Rehm was 3-1 at 141, opening the day with two straight falls. Rehm fell to Kent State’s Kyle Bauer, 6-4 in the finals.
Spenkle picked up a pin and a 5-2 decision on the way to the finals, where he was edged, 4-2 by Kent State’s Cole Baxter, the top-seed.
LeMaire went 4-1 at 125. Following a pair of decisions to open the day, LeMaire lost in the semifinals. He responded with an 8-1 win and pinned Kent State’s Anthony Tutolo in the third-place bout.
Perry was 4-1 at 133. He opened the day with back-to-back tech falls and following a loss in the semifinals, Perry picked up a 9-8 decision and 10-2 major over Buffalo’s Sean Peacock for third.
Biddle was 4-1 at 157 and beat Buffalo’s Alex Smythe 6-3 for third.
Lock Haven returns to action on Saturday, November 15 at the Eastern Michigan Open/Duals in Ypsilanti, Michigan. LHU will take on No. 24 Ohio, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Kent State (NR, RV) and Eastern Michigan.
