ST. LOUIS, Mo. - McKendree University men's wrestling took on the Kaufman/Brand Open hosted by Maryville on November 6 to open the season. The Bearcats posted five top-three finished in the elite brackets during the one-day event with one first-place finished in redshirt-sophomore Cam Fusco in the 125-lb. class. McKendree sent 24 wrestlers to the open tournament with 19 competing in the elite brackets and five wrestling in the amateur brackets.

125 lb. - Elite 
Fusco, a native of Arnold, Missouri, went 3-0 on his way to a first place finish in bracket and recorded two major decision victories and a fall. The redshirt sophomore received a bye in the first round, going on to face Nick Ornelas (Kentucky Wesleyan) in round two, beating the Panther by major decision, 15-6. The semifinal third round of the bracket was captured by Fusco via pin at the 1:48 mark over Robert Farichild (Williams Baptist). The championship, first-place match placed Fusco against Broderick Green of Fort Hays State, where the redshirt-sophomore won via his second major decision of the weekend, 15-4. 

133 lb. - Elite
Redshirt freshman Ryan Ripplinger  went 5-1 enroute to a third place finish at the open tournament, beating fellow McKendree Bearcat and freshman Brody Norman to capture the placement. The redshirt freshman started the tournament with a win by fall over Brayden Bradley (Missouri Valley) at the 2:37 mark but dropped the following match via decision, 3-4. The loss sent Ripplinger into the consolation bracket, where the Bismarck, North Dakota-native won three-straight match via fall. The first victory by fall came at the 5:27 mark over Josh Wright (Williams Baptist), with the second coming against fellow Bearcat Tyler Delaware at 1:28, the third win by pin came against Fort Hays State wrestler, Gunnar Smith, at the 0:52 mark. Ripplinger then went on to face Norman in teh third place contest, beating his teammate by decision, 3-0. 

165 lb. - Elite
Redshirt freshman Cory Peterson nabbed another top-three finish (3rd) for the Bearcats with a 4-1 overall record on the weekend. Peterson (Valmeyer, Illinois) won his initial matchup of the tournament by major decision, 17-6 over Raymond Williams (Campbellsville (Ky.)) and then collected a victory by 2-1 decision over Lincoln College wrestler, Andrew Sims. Peterson's first loss of the outing came against Austin Morgan of Central Missouri in the semifinals via a 5-6 decision. The redshirt freshman then went on to take third place with a win in the consolation semifinal round by 3-2 decision over Missouri Valley's William Seibert and then a second win over Lincoln College's Sims by decision, 3-2. 

174 lb. Elite
Freshman Zeke Waltz, a native of Jerseyville, Illinois, dropped his first match of the tounament but collected four-straight wins to earn another third-place finish for McKendree with a 4-1 overall slate. Waltz lost the initial matchup with Abner Romero of Lindenwood by major decision 6-15 but then wen on to record four-straight match wins, including one over Romero in the third-place match. His second contest, Waltz won by fall at the 5:28 mark and then claimed a 6-6 decision over Maryville's Cody Everhart to move into the consolation semis. Waltz then earned a pair of wins with medical forfeits to earn the third-place finish. 

197 lb. Elite
Graduate student Vincenzo Scaletta amassed a 4-1 record at the tournament and a third-place finish behind four-straight decision victories. Scaletta, a native of Harwood Heights, Illinois, dropped his first round matchup to Fort Hays State's Tereus Henry but collected four decisions, beating Westminster's Montgomery Mills via fall at 4:33 and Campbellsville's (Ky.) Curtis Thomas by a 6-5 decision. In the cosolation semifinals, Scaletta defeated fellow McKendree Bearcat and redshirt freshman Logan Kvien by decision, 7-6, and then earned third place behind a 3-2 decison victory over Maryville's Chase Stegall.

OVERALL RESULTS:
125lb Elite | Cam Fusco | 3-0, 1st Place
133lb Elite | Ryan Ripplinger | 5-1, 3rd Place
133lb Elite | Brody Norman | 4-2
141lb Elite | Joey Semerad | 3-2
149lb Elite| Eric Pettibone | 0-2
149lb Elite | Josh Ramos | 1-2
149lb Elite | Noah Villarreal | 2-2
157lb Elite | Robbie Snellenberger | 0-2
157lb Elite | Jose Champagne | 3-2
165lb Elite | Cory Peterson | 4-1, 3rd Place
165lb Elite | Jordan Alcala | 0-2
174lb Elite | Zeke Waltz | 4-1, 3rd Place
174lb Elite | Max Rinklin | 1-2
174lb Elite | Joshua Jones | 2-1
184lb Elite | Rozell Baker | 2-2
197lb Elite | Vincenzo Scaletta | 4-1, 3rd Place
197lb Elite | Logan Kvien | 1-3
197lb Elite | Caleb Guise | 0-2
285lb Elite | Kevin Zange | 2-2

125lb Amateur | Christian Cartright | 1-2
141lb Amateur | Ronan Schuelke | 1-2
149lb Amateur | Ryan Haynes | 3-1, 3rd Place
149lb Amateur | Christian Pfeiffer-Laguerre | 3-2
285lb Amateur | Dustin Olmstead | 0-2

UP NEXT:
McKendree men's wrestling returns to the mats in a dual match with Kentucky Wesleyan College on Wednesday, November 10 at Melvin Price Convocation Center in Lebanon, Illinois.

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