Wrestling | 11/9/2008 7:05:00 PM
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ITHACA, NY - The RIT wrestling team opened the 2008-09 season by finishing 12th out of 15 teams at the Ithaca Invitational on Saturday and Sunday. The Tigers tallied 37.0 points and had a pair of wrestlers place, Junior #Jason Wake (Delhi, NY/Delaware Academy)# (Delhi, NY/Delaware Academy) finished second at 165 lbs., while Senior #Luke Baum (Ontario, NY/Wayne)# (Ontario, NY/Wayne) went 5-2 on the weekend at 141 lbs., finishing fifth and tying the school record for wins in a career at RIT with 109.
Ithaca won the tournament with 175 points. SUNY Cortland was second with 125.5 points.
Wake, who finished 24-15 a year ago, won 7-6 in his first match of the weekend, then recorded a pin in 4:38. He defeated Kenny Ford of Roger Williams, 6-0 in the quarterfinals and Pat Knight of NYU, 2-0 in the semifinals, before falling to Mike Morin of Southern Maine, 5-2 in the championship. He went 4-1 to start the year.
Baum, a two-time NCAA Tournament participant, won his first four matches, allowing just one point and securing one pin, before falling to eventual champion John Paxos of Ithaca in the semifinal. He then lost a match on the consolation round before defeating David Alsieux of Centenary, 11-2 in the fifth place match.
Baum, who is the RIT single-season record holder for wins in a season, with 38 in 2006, is now 109-41. He equaled Darrell Leslie's school record of 109 wins. Leslie, went 109-17 from 1987-83 and won a national championship at 142 lbs. in 1983.
Overall, six different Tigers recorded wins at the the tournament.
#Zach Feador (North Olmsted, OH/North Olmsted)# (North Olmsted, OH/North Olmsted) and
#Stephan Avorkliya (Charlotte, NC/East Mecklenburg)# (Charlotte, NC/East Mecklenburg) each went 3-2 over the weekend,
Senior
#Nick Ryan (Fairport, NY/Fairport)# (Fairport, NY/Fairport) picked up a win at 174 lbs., while freshman
#Ben Johnstone (West Henrietta, NY/Rush-Henrietta)# (West Henrietta, NY/Rush-Henrietta) picked up his first collegiate win at 165 lbs.
RIT is back in action on Saturday, as they travel to face SUNY Oswego in a dual meet that starts at 1 p.m.
