BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – A new era of Penn Wrestling began with a championship run from Frank Mattiace and eight total placewinners at the Bearcat Open hosted by Binghamton University.
 
Ranked No. 14 at 197 pounds, Frank Mattiace pinned his way to the semifinals, decking his first three opponents before defeating a pair of Cornell wrestlers to capture the title. His final win was a convincing 14-6 major decision over Ben Darmstadt.
 
Mattiace opened the scoring in the championship bout, connecting on a takedown in the first 15 seconds before piling on four points of nearfall for a 6-0 lead just over a minute into the bout. Darmstadt reversed late in the first period, but Mattiace would bring a 6-2 lead and 1:12 of riding time to the second period. Mattiace would ride for the majority of the second period, building his advantage to over 2:00 before the two wrestlers traded reversals. Leading, 8-4, Mattiace turned Darmstadt again for a 12-4 lead after two periods.
 
The Red and Blue sent four wrestlers to the semifinals with May Bethea, No. 15 Joe Heyob and Patrik Garren all putting together solid starts.
 
Bethea was defeated by Cornell's Jon Jay Chavez, 5-2, in the semifinals but rallied with an 8-1 decision over Cornell's Milik Dawkins to take third at 15 pounds. All four of Bethea's matches at the tournament were against Big Red wrestlers, and he was 3-1 against them.
 
Heyob was edged in overtime in the semifinals at 184, falling to Binghamton's Lou DePrez, 6-4. Heyob had started his day with a pin and a tech fall before the overtime loss.
 
Garren, who did not compete last season, returned to the mats with a 3-2 performance. He reached the semis before losing to Columbia's No. 15 Garrett Ryan, 13-2.
 
Other Quakers who placed include freshmen Daniel Planta (eighth at 125) and Gianni Ghione (sixth at 133), sophomore Jake Lizak (eighth at 141 after missing all of 2016-17 with injury), and senior Joe Velliquette (fifth at 157).
 
Ghione went 5-1 in his first collegiate action. After losing to Cornell's Noah Baughman in the second round, Ghione picked up first-period pins in his next three matches to set up a rematch with Baughman. Ghione learned from the earlier meeting and scored a 10-6 win in overtime to ensure placement.
 
125 – Daniel Planta (Eighth Place)
First Round: lost to Steven Bulzomi (Binghamton), 12-1
Consolation Second Round: def. Carols Aucancela (Binghamton), 6-1
Consolation Third Round: def. Spencer Good (Columbia), 6-1
Consolation Quarters: def. Coleton Chase (Ohio), 12-6
Consolation Semifinals: Defaulted
 
133 – Gianni Ghione (Sixth Place)
First Round: def. Kevin Kelly (Binghamton), 8-2
Second Round: lost to Noah Baughman (Cornell), 9-2
Consolation Second Round: def. Anthony Ianno (Oswego), FALL 0:34
Consolation Third Round: def. Lukas Stricker (Harvard), FALL 0:50
Consolation Quarterfinals: def. Alec Kelly (Columbia), FALL 2:13
Consolation Semifinals: def. Noah Baughman (Cornell), 10-6 (SV)
 
141 – Jake Lizak (Eighth Place)
First Round: def. JP Ascolese (Columbia), 8-6
Second Round: lost to Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell), FALL 3:10
Consolation Second Round: def. Sean Fitzsimmons (Army West Point), 17-1
Consolation Third Round: def. Griffin Higginbottom (Cornell), 3-2
Consolation Quarterfinals: def. Brian Courtney (Virginia), 5-2
Consolation Semifinals: lost to Alec Hagan (Ohio), 12-5
 
141 – Tony Patsy
First Round: lost to Ian McNitt (Cornell), 4-1
Consolation First Round: lost to Brett Kulp (Franklin & Marshall), FALL 0:18
 
149 – Evan DeLuise
First Round: Bye
Second Round: def. Nick Maher (Franklin & Marshall), 2-1
Third Round: lost to Hunter Richard (Cornell), 8-6
Consolation Third Round: lost to Patrick Quinlan (Franklin & Marshall), 5-2
 
157 – Joe Velliquette (Fifth Place)
First Round: Bye
Second Round: lost to Justin Staudenmayer (Brown), 7-5
Consolation Second Round: def. Kade Kowalski (Ohio), 15-0
Consolation Quarterfinals: def. Freddy Stroker (FLWC), 11-4
Consolation Semifinals: def. Adam Santoro (Cornell), 9-2
Fifth Place Match: Wins via default
 
165 – May Bethea (Third Place)
First Round: Bye
Second Round: def. Andrew Garcia (Cornell), FALL 2:59
Quarterfinals: def. Jonah Barley (Cornell), 17-6
Semifinals: lost to Jon Jay Chavez (Cornell), 5-2
Third Place Match: def. Milik Dawkins (Cornell), 8-1
 
174 – Brian Krasowski
First Round: Bye
Second Round: lost to No. 7 Brandon Womack (Cornell), 17-0
Consolation Second Round: lost to Jake Kocsis (Binghamton), 8-4
 
174 – Khamari Whimper
First Round: def. Jaried Buxton (Cornell), FALL 5:00
Second Round: lost to Cameron Caldarelli (Buffalo), 3-2 (SV)
Consolation Second Round: def. Kyle Inlander (Bucknell), FALL 0:56
Consolation Third Round: lost to Andrew Labrie (Brown), FALL 5:35
 
184 – No. 15 Joe Heyob (Fourth Place)
First Round: def. Brian Bonino (Columbia), FALL 1:43
Second Round: def. Steve Mercadante (Franklin & Marshall), 16-0
Quarterfinals: def. Anthony Pedro (Brown), 6-1
Semifinals: lost to Lou DePrez (Binghamton), 6-4 (SV)
Third Place Match: Defaulted
 
197 – No. 14 Frank Mattiace (Champion)
First Round: def. Matt Doggett (Columbia), FALL 4:41
Second Round: def. Jack Argast (Franklin & Marshall), FALL 1:01
Quarterfinals: def. Tucker Ziegler (Brown), FALL 1:17
Semifinals: def. Ben Honis (Cornell), 6-3
Championship Match: def. Ben Darmstadt (Cornell), 14-6
 
285 – Patrik Garren (Fourth Place)
First Round: def. Jake Koch (VMI), 19-4
Second Round: def. McZiggy Richards (Cornell), 7-1
Quarterfinals: def. Samuel Weinger (RIT), 12-6
Semifinals: lost to No. 15 Garrett Ryan (Columbia), 13-2
Third Place Match: lost to Antonio Pelusi (Franklin & Marshall), 3-2
 
285 – Tyler Hall
First Round: def. Evan Ellis (Brown), 3-0
Second Round: lost to Connor Calkins (Binghamton), 17-0
Consolation Second Round: def. Corey Kerkesner (Franklin & Marshall), 11-2
Consolation Third Round: def. Seth Janney (FLWC), 8-0
Consolation Quarterfinals: lost to Ian Butterbrodt (Brown), 5-0