PHILADELPHIA – What a difference a year makes.
 
Last year, the University of Pennsylvania wrestling team placed just five wrestlers at the Keystone Classic, finishing seventh. One year later, the Red and Blue sent nine wrestlers to the podium and finished third overall as a team.
 
Penn had placewinners in eight of the 10 weight classes, finishing with 108.0 total points as a team – just 1.5 points removed from second place and eight points clear of fourth place.
 
Six of Penn's placewinners were freshmen, led by Carmen Ferrante who was runner-up at 125 pounds. He was joined by classmates Anthony Artalona (third at 149), Doug Zapf (fourth at 133), Grant Aronoff (fifth at 141), Ben Goldin (fifth at 285), and Greg Bensley (sixth at 197) as podium finishers in their first Palestra action.
 
A trio of upperclassmen provided big team points for the Red and Blue as well. Junior Jon Errico was fourth at 157 pounds, sophomore Evan DeLuise was fourth at 165 pounds, and senior A.J. Vindici was sixth at 141 in his first competition in over a year.
 
Ferrante was 3-1 in his first Keystone Classic, picking up a pair of falls before defeating Harvard's Nolan Hellickson, 7-3, in the semifinals. In the championship match, he was defeated by Rider's Jonathan Tropea – the number one seed in the bracket, 7-3. The key turning point in the match was when an apparent takedown by Ferrante late in the first period was overturned due to the ruling of an illegal trip. Instead of taking a 3-2 lead, Ferrante trailed, 3-1, after one period. A takedown in the second period by Tropea and riding time were ultimately the difference.
 
Anthony Artalona finished his tournament 5-1, the only loss a frustrating one to Duke's No. 10 Mitch Finesilver – the top seed in the tournament. Finesilver escaped to start the second and took a 2-0 lead following a second stall call on Artalona. Shortly thereafter, Artalona was as close as one can be to a takedown following a flurry on the mat, but even after a challenge from the Penn coaches the points were not awarded. Artalona closed within one after an escape to start the third, but a takedown in the final minute and riding time were enough for Finesilver.
 
Artalona rebounded with a pair of wins over Penn State opponents, defeating Luke Gardner, 3-1, in the consolation semis before gutting out a 4-2 win in second sudden victory over Jarod Verkleeren. Artalona appeared to have the match won in rideouts following an escape and a 30-second ride, but locked hands were found after a PSU challenge. That point tied the match, but Artalona buckled down and rode out the final eight seconds to force a second period of overtime. He quickly shot in on a low double, and laced up the legs for the winning score and third place.
 
Another Florida freshman had a solid Palestra debut in Grant Aronoff. After a loss to returning All-American and national No. 5 Nick Lee of Penn State, Aronoff rebounded to finish fifth. He had a tech fall and pin to his credit, his only two losses to wrestler who competed at last year's NCAAs.
 
Doug Zapf was fourth at 133 pounds, both of his losses 5-3 decisions to VMI's Hunter Starner. After a first round loss, he rallied with a pin and a 5-4 decision over Penn State's Scott Stossel.
 
Senior A.J. Vindici missed all of 2017-18 win injury, but his return to the mat saw a 3-1 day. On a match count, Vindici's only loss was to returning NCAA qualifier Irvin Enriquez of Appalachian State. He would follow with a pin, and a 10-4 decision over Penn State's Dom Giangenelli.
 
At 157 pounds, Jon Errico was fourth. After losing his first bout, he won four matches to reach the third place match. The big win was a pin of Appalachian State's Matt Zovistoski in the consolation semis. Errico led, 1-0, after two periods but worked nearfall and then the pin from top position in the third to knock off the returning NCAA qualifier and last year's National Collegiate Open champion at 157.
 
Sophomore Evan DeLuise went 3-2 at 165 to finish fourth. He had two pins on the day, tied for the team lead. His two pins were the two fastest on the day for the Quakers, adding key bonus points as the team made its run at a team trophy.
 
The Quakers open the 2018-19 dual meet season on November 29 at Rider at 7 p.m.
 
125: Carmen Ferrante – Second Place
First Round: def. Harrison Campbell (Duke), FALL; 2:14
Quarterfinals: def. Dante Mininno (Drexel), FALL; 4:03
Semifinals: def. Nolan Hellickson (Harvard), 7-3
Final: lost to Jonathan Tropea (Rider), 7-3
 
125: Blair Orr
First Round: def. Jose Diaz (F&M), 9-4
Quarterfinals: lost to Jonathan Tropea (Rider), 11-5
Consolation Second Round: lost to Justin Lopez (Penn State), 3-2
 
133: Tristin DeVincenzo
First Round: lost to Scott Stossel (Penn State), 11-3
Consolation First Round: lost to Herb Edwards (Rider), 11-5
 
133: Jon Guevara
First Round: def. William Bianchi (Sacred Heart), 13-1
Quarterfinals: lost to Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State), FALL; 0:38
Consolation Second Round: lost to Herb Edwards (Rider), 7-5 (SV)
  
133: Doug Zapf – Fourth Place
First Round: Bye
Quarterfinals: lost to Hunter Starner (VMI), 5-3
Consolation First Round: def. William Bianchi (Sacred Heart), FALL; 2:10
Consolation Quarterfinals: def. Scott Stossel (Penn State), 5-4
Consolation Semifinals: advanced via medical forfeit
Third Place Match: lost to Hunter Starner (VMI), 5-3
 
141: Grant Aronoff
First Round: Bye
Second Round: def. Hunter Adams (Sacred Heart), 16-0 (3:46)
Quarterfinals: lost to No. 5 Nick Lee (Penn State), FALL; 4:07
Consolation Third Round: def. Ryan Friedman (Harvard), 9-2
Consolation Quarterfinals: def. Travis Layton (Rider), FALL; 2:55
Consolation Semifinals: lost to Irvin Enriquez (App. State), FALL; 3:55
Fifth Place Match: wins via medical forfeit
 
141: A.J. Vindici
First Round: Bye
Second Round: def. Ryan Friedman (Harvard), 8-1
Quarterfinals: lost to Irvin Enriquez (App. State), 10-5
Consolation Third Round: def. Tyler Tarsi (Harvard), FALL; 1:46
Consolation Quarterfinals: def. Dom Gianginelli (Penn State), 10-4
 
149: Anthony Artalona – Third Place
First Round: def. Jonathan Milner (App. State), 19-4 (5:59)
Second Round: def. Chris Martorello (F&M), 17-2 (4:52)
Quarterfinals: def. Trevor Elfvin (Drexel), 6-3
Semifinals: lost to No. 10 Mitch Finesilver (Duke), 5-2
Consolation Semifinals: def. Luke Gardner (Penn State), 3-1
Third Place Match: def. Jarod Verkleeren (Penn State), 4-2 (SV2)
 
149: Jeremy Ridge
First Round: Bye
Second Round: lost to Brock Wilson (Harvard), 13-0
Consolation Second Round: lost to Jonathan Miller (App. State), 10-2
 
157: Carl Antrassian
First Round: Bye
Second Round: lost to Jason Nolf (Penn State), FALL; 2:15
Consolation Second Round: lost to Gino Fluri (Rider), 12-3
 
157: Jon Errico – Fourth Place
First Round: Bye
Second Round: lost to Emmett LiCastri (F&M), 7-4
Consolation Second Round: def. Felix Belga (Drexel), 6-0
Consolation Third Round: advance via medical forfeit
Consolation Quarterfinals: def. Angel Najar (App. State), 13-2
Consolation Semifinals: def. Matt Zovistoski (App. State), FALL; 5:13
Third Place Match: lost to Hunter Ladnier (Harvard), 10-6
 
157: Willy Kaiser
First Round: Bye
Second Round: lost to Evan Barczak (Drexel), FALL; 4:37
Consolation Second Round: def. Noah Chan (F&M), 8-5
Consolation Third Round: def. Gary Dinmore (Rider), 3-2
Consolation Quarterfinals: lost to Bo Pipher (Penn State), 5-4
 
157: Joe Oliva
First Round: Bye
Second Round: def. Brandon Leynaud (Duke), 17-0 (4:23)
Quarterfinals: lost to Hunter Ladnier (Harvard), 5-4
 
165: Neil Antrassian
First Round: def. Maliik Marcin (Duke), 15-0 (6:03)
Second Round: lost to Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider), 17-2 (7:00)
Consolation Second Round: def. Joseph Eiden (Sacred Heart), FALL; 456
Consolation Third Round: lost to Evan DeLuise (Penn), FALL; 1:17
 
165: Evan DeLuise – Fourth Place
First Round: Bye
Second Round: def. Luke Nicksik (VMI), FALL; 1:27
Quarterfinals: lost to No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State), FALL; 4:29
Consolation Third Round: def. Neil Antrassian (Penn), FALL; 1:17
Consolation Quarterfinals: def. Joe Accusti (App. State), 6-4
Consolation Semifinals: advance via medical forfeit
Third Place Match: lost to Joshua Kim (Harvard), 3-2
 
165: A.J. Geers
First Round: Bye
Second Round: lost to Joshua Kim (Harvard), FALL; 1:21
Consolation Second Round: lost to Brandon Levesque (Sacred Heart), 18-3 (6:04)
 
165: Josh Swanson
First Round: Bye
Second Round: lost to Crew Fullerton (F&M), 15-3
Consolation Second Round: lost to Michael Manley (Drexel), 9-1
 
174: Jake Hendricks
First Round: lost to Neal Richards (VMI), 14-4
Consolation First Round: def. Thomas Flitz (App. State), 8-6
Consolation Second Round: lost to Anthony Falbo (Sacred Heart), 4-1
 
174: Brian Krasowski
First Round: lost to Dean Sherry (Rider), 18-9
Consolation Second Round: lost to Bryan McLaughlin (Drexel), 6-4 (SV)
 
184: Ryan Farber
First Round: Bye
Quarterfinals: lost to Kaden Russell (Duke), FALL; 1:15
Consolation Second Round: lost to Franny Bisono (Penn State), 11-2
 
184: Jalen Laughlin
First Round: def. Jimmy Stillerman (F&M) 6-2
Quarterfinals: lost to Alan Clothier (App. State), 12-3
 
197: Greg Bensley – Sixth Place
First Round: Bye
Quarterfinals: lost to No. 9 Stephen Loiseau (Drexel), 4-1
Consolation First Round: Bye
Consolation Second Round: def. Demazio Samuel (App. State), FALL; 5:33
Consolation Semifinals: lost to Ethan Laird (Rider), 16-1 (2:53)
Fifth Place Match: lost to Phil Robilotto (F&M), FALL; 4:44
 
197: Patrik Garren
First Round: Bye
Quarterfinals: lost to Ethan Laird (Rider), 16-0 (5:00)
 
197: Tyler Hall
First Round: lost to Mark Blokh (Sacred Heart), 10-6
Consolation First Round: advanced via medical forfeit
Consolation Second Round: lost to Phil Robilotto (F&M), FALL; 0:39
 
285: Ben Goldin – Fifth Place
First Round: Bye
Quarterfinals: lost to Anthony Cassar (Penn State), FALL; 1:20
Consolation Second Round: def. James Brady (Rider), 4-2
Consolation Semifinals: lost to Cary Miller (App. State), 4-0
Fifth Place Match: wins via medical forfeit