The Immaculata wrestling team placed fourth at this weekend’s Rock Port (Mo.) Invitatational, despite missing three wrestlers. Alan Gilbert, Brad Holcomb and Ed Chapman were all out of action for the Saturday event, and with those additional points head coach Larry O’Donnell said his team could have been even higher in the team rankings.
“We probably would have placed in the top two teams overall if we had our full lineup,” O’Donnell said.
Matt Harrington at 140 pounds and Jacob O’Neil at 145 each took first place for the Raiders. Harringotn went 4-0 at the meet.
“(It was a) real solid effort,” O’Donnell said of Harrington’s win in the 140-pound weight class.
O’Neil used a 3-0 run on Saturday to win the title in his division.
“It was the best he has wrestled all season,” the Immaculata coach said of O’Neil’s championship run.
Colin Parker brought home a silver medal for the Raiders, the sophomore going 4-1 to place second in th 160-pound weight class.
“He came back and won two of his matches after being down by several points,” O’Donnell said.
Matt Lawson, Immaculata’s 215-pounder, was third on the day after a 2-2 run. Van Nine at 112, Ben Fisher at 125, Jacob Tuake at 152 and Marcus Telesco at 171 each took fourth. Nine went 2-2 on the day in what O’Donnell called a gutsy performance as the sophomore battled illness. Fisher, a freshman, won one bout and lost three on the day and fellow freshman Tauke stood to earn his first win of the year before penalties put him back in the hole. Telesco battled in a tough weight class, O’Donnell said, but wasn’t able to come up with a win at the tournament.
The Rock Port Invitational was originally scheduled for Jan. 9, but was postponed due to weather conditions. Next up for the Raiders is Saturday’s Delaware Valley League meet which they’ll host at Immaculata High School beginning at 9 a.m. That is the last regular-season meet for the green and white who will then head to their 3-2-1A regional at Rossville on Friday, Feb. 19 and Saturday, Feb. 20.
