Frick, McKeown Lead Warriors’ Efforts at 44th Annual ESU Open

EAST STROUDSBURG – Redshirt junior Thad Frick made the finals at 165 pounds to lead East Stroudsburg University at the 44th Annual ESU Open on Saturday afternoon at Koehler Fieldhouse.

Frick posted three straight victories to make the championship match, beating Harrison Hightower (Virginia Tech) 4-3, pinning Dakota Kuhn (Millersville) in 2:50 and taking out Ricky Pena (Kutztown) with an 11-3 major decision in the semifinals. Dirk Cowburn (Penn State) had a first-period pin in the final and was one of three Nittany Lions to win individual titles.

Redshirt freshman Brendan McKeown had a strong day on the mat, finishing third at 184 by winning six straight bouts after an opening round loss. The Warriors had the fifth- and sixth-place finishers at 285 in sophomores Will Weaver and Erik Schaffer, and four other wrestlers reached the quarterfinals in their weight classes – redshirt junior Adam Hluschak (141), redshirt senior Jeff Jacobs (174), junior James Gonzalez (184) and redshirt junior Ed Ebewo (197).

McKeown began his run through the consolations with a 13-10 decision over Kadeem Samuels (Lehigh). He pinned teammate Frank Colder in 4:40, then had decisions over Fred Garcia (Lock Haven) and William Miller (Navy Prep). McKeown advanced to the third/fourth place match by default over Nathan Ronan (Bloomsburg), and posted a 13-2 major decision over Ty Snook (Maryland) to finish third.

Weaver won his first two matches to reach the semifinals, where he fell 3-1 to Carl Buchholz (Rutgers). Justin Grant (Kutztown) posted a 13-7 decision before he finished fifth by forfeit over Schaffer.

Schaffer began his day with a 1-0 decision over Greg Ritter (Middlesex CC), then dropped a 3-2 decision to Ben Ostner (unrostered). He came back with three straight decisions to make the fifth/sixth place match.

Jacobs recorded his 40th career win during a busy Saturday, picking up a pair of first-period pins in his first two matches against Thomas Villareale (Delaware Valley) and Eric Sergent (Kutztown). Jacobs lost his quarterfinal bout 7-6 vs. Brian Broderick (TCNJ) and then bowed out in the consolations with a medical forfeit.

ESU had 18 individuals enter the tournament, with 15 posting at least one victory. The Warriors’ entrants had a combined record of 35-34, with 10 pins and three major decisions.