Sunday, December 30
Hoffman Estates, IL
All Day
Brown University
vs
Midlands Championships
Wrestling’s Viruet, LaFragola Place at Midlands Championships
12/30/2018 10:23:00 PM | Wrestling
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – Senior Jon Viruet placed fifth in the 165-pound weight class, and senior CJ LaFragola came in sixth in the 184-pound weight class to highlight Brown University wrestling's stay at the 56th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on Sunday at Sears Centre Arena.
The Bears tallied two place-winners at Midlands for the first time since 2014 as Viruet (Springfield, Mass.) – the No. 7 seed – went 3-1 on Sunday, including a victory in the fifth-place bout, to complete the tournament with a 6-2 record while LaFragola – the No. 5 seed – finished the event with a 5-3 overall record.
"I'm very pleased with our team's performance this weekend at the Midlands Championships," Brown head coach Todd Beckerman said. "Especially having two placers at such a prestigious event is a great accomplishment. We saw a high level of competition this weekend, which will help prepare us for our upcoming dual season and postseason championship."
In the team standings, Brown came in a tie for 14th place out of 67 teams with 38.0 points, marking the program's highest team finish at the event since 2013. Iowa won the team title with 184.0 points. Competition at the event included four of the top 10, eight of the top 15, and 11 of the top 25 teams in the country.
Viruet placed at a tournament for the third time this season as he won his weight class at the Bearcat Open and the Navy Classic while LaFragola placed for the second time this year after winning his weight class at the Bearcat Open.
On Sunday, Viruet – ranked No. 19 at 165 according to Intermat – topped Troy Keller of Buffalo, 8-3, and No. 6 seed Joseph Gunther of Illinois, 3-0, before dropping a major decision to No. 4 seed Bryce Steiert of Northern Iowa, 14-2. Viruet responded with a 5-0 win over Northern Illinois' Caden McWhirter in the fifth-place match.
LaFragola opened the second day of competition with victories over No. 3 seed Kevin Parker of Princeton, 16-10, and Thomas Penola of Purdue, 10-3. He dropped a major decision to Fresno State's Jackson Hemauer, 12-2, and a narrow 4-3 decision to No. 8 seed Gavin Hoffman of Ohio State in the fifth-place match to close the day.
Sophomore Hunter Kosco (Canal Fulton, Ohio) also advanced to day two, dropping a 9-6 decision to No. 10 seed Jens Lantz of Wisconsin in the consolation of the 133-pound weight class on Sunday.
Next, Brown will compete at the Franklin & Marshall Open on Jan. 5.
Saturday Recap
Sophomore Hunter Kosco and seniors Jon Viruet and CJ LaFragola each tallied three wins to pace Brown University wrestling on the first day of the 56th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on Saturday at Sears Centre Arena.
Kosco (Canal Fulton, Ohio) and Viruet (Springfield, Mass.) both opened the day with three straight victories to reach the quarterfinals at 133 and 165 pounds respectively while LaFragola (Little Egg Harbor, N.J.) registered a trio of wins at 184 pounds, including a victory over a seeded opponent in his last match, to remain in contention for placing on Sunday.
Kosco charted a pair of victories via decision over foes from Old Dominion and Penn to start the day before advancing past No. 1 seed Nathan Tomasello via injury default. Kosco dropped a decision to Paul Glynn of Iowa in the quarterfinals and will meet No. 10 seed Jens Lantz of Wisconsin in the consolation on Sunday.
Viruet – the No. 7 seed and ranked No. 19 nationally at 165 according to Intermat – recorded three straight wins to begin the day, topping opponents from Central Michigan, South Dakota State, and Northern Illinois. After dropping a decision in sudden victory to No. 2 seed Alex Marinelli of Iowa, he will face Buffalo's Troy Keller in the consolation on Sunday.
LaFragola – the No. 5 seed at 185 – opened the day with a 12-3 major decision over Northern Illinois' Michael Aldrich. Following a setback in the next round, he defeated teammate AJ Pedro and No. 7 seed Jordan Atienza of Central Michigan to proceed to Sunday's competition. He will wrestle No. 3 seed Kevin Parker of Princeton in the consolation tomorrow.
Junior Jimmy Pawelski (Park Ridge, Ill.) and senior Christian LaBrie (Exeter, R.I.) each earned two wins apiece at 141 and 157 pounds respectively. LaBrie notched the Bears' only two pins of the day. Junior Trey Keeley (Washington, Ill.), sophomore AJ Pedro (Methuen, Mass.), and senior Ian Butterbrodt (North Andover, Mass.) all picked up one win.
In the team standings, Brown stood in a tie for 16th place out of 67 teams with 24.0 points at the end of its competition for the day. Iowa led the field with 114.5 points at the end of day one. Competition at the event includes four of the top 10, eight of the top 15, and 11 of the top 25 teams in the nation.
Brown Results
125 Pounds
Trey Keeley (1-2)
No. 13 Jay Albis (Johnson & Wales) def. Keeley in Second Round, Dec. 4-1
Keeley def. Jeremy Trinh (Fresno State) in Consolation, Dec. 4-0
Kyle Biscolglia (Northern Iowa) def. Keeley in consolation, Dec. 6-0
133 Pounds
Hunter Kosco (3-2)
Day 1, Saturday (3-1)
Kosco def. Killian Cardinale (Old Dominion) in First Round, Dec. 9-7
Kosco def. Tristin DeVincenzo (Penn) in Second Round, Dec. 13-8
Kosco def. No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (TMWC/Ohio RT) in Third Round, Injury
Paul Glynn (Iowa) def. Kosco in Quarterfinals, Dec. 4-0
Day 2, Sunday (0-1)
No. 10 Jens Lantz (Wisconsin) def. Kosco in Consolation, Dec. 9-6
141 Pounds
Jimmy Pawelski (2-2)
Pawelski def. Trevor Tarsi (Harvard) in First Round, Dec. 8-6
No. 2 Max Murin (Iowa) def. Pawelski in Second Round, Fall 2:56
Pawelski def. Conner Noonan (Oregon State) in Consolation, Dec. 4-1
Cory Crooks (Arizona State) def. Pawelski in Consolation, Dec 8-2
Colin Realbuto (0-2)
No. 5 Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) def. Realbuto in Second Round, Dec. 7-4
Wilfredo Gil (Franklin & Marshall) def. Realbuto in Consolation, Dec. 9-6
157 Pounds
Christian LaBrie (2-2)
LaBrie def. Jason Crary (University of Chicago) in First Round, Fall 2:38
No. 3 John Vanbrill (Rutgers) def. LaBrie in Second Round, Fall 4:05
LaBrie def. Aaron Kruk (Harvard) in Consolation, Fall 4:05
Kendall Coleman (Purdue) def. LaBrie in Consolation, Dec. 15-10
165 Pounds
No. 7 Seed, No. 19 Ranked Jon Viruet (Fifth Place, 6-2)
Day 1, Saturday (3-1)
Viruet def. Blake Montrie (Central Michigan) in First Round, MD 15-3
Viruet def. Logan Peterson (South Dakota State) in Second Round, Dec. 5-2
Viruet def. Kenny Moore (Northern Illinois) in Third Round, MD 8-0
No. 2 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) def. Viruet in Quarterfinals, Dec. 8-6 SV-1
Day 2, Sunday (3-1)
Viruet def. Troy Keller (Buffalo) in Consolation, Dec. 8-3
Viruet def. No. 6 Joseph Gunther (Illinois) in Consolation, Dec. 3-0
No. 4 Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa) def. Viruet in Consolation, MD 14-2
Viruet def. Caden McWhirter (Northern Illinois) in Fifth-Place Match, Dec. 5-0
184 Pounds
No. 5 Seed CJ LaFragola (Sixth Place, 5-3)
Day 1, Saturday (3-1)
LaFragola def. Michael Aldrich (Northern Illinois) in Second Round, MD 12-3
Jackson Hemauer (Fresno State) def. LaFragola in Third Round, Dec. 10-7
LaFragola def. AJ Pedro (Brown) in Consolation, Dec. 6-5
LaFragola def. No. 7 Jordan Atienza (Central Michigan) in Consolation, Dec. 9-7
Day 2, Sunday (2-2)
LaFragola def. No. 3 Kevin Parker (Princeton) in Consolation, Dec. 16-10
LaFragola def. Thomas Penola (Purdue) in Consolation, Dec. 10-3
Jackson Hemauer (Fresno State) def. LaFragola in Consolation, MD 12-2
No. 8 Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) def. LaFragola in Fifth-Place Match, Dec. 4-3
AJ Pedro (1-2)
No. 2 Cash Wilcke (Iowa) def. Pedro in Second Round, Dec. 5-0
Pedro def. Robert Ng (Penn) in Consolation, MD 12-3
No. 5 Christian LaFragola (Brown) def. Pedro in Consolation, Dec. 6-5
197 Pounds
Andrew LaBrie (0-2)
No. 5 Andrew Davison (Michigan) def. LaBrie in Second Round, Dec. 11-4
No. 12 Brett Perry (Buffalo) def. LaBrie in Consolation, Dec. 4-1
Tucker Ziegler (0-2)
No. 3 Joe Rau (Chicago RTC) def. Ziegler in First Round, Dec. 10-5
Garrett Joles (Minnesota) def. Ziegler in Consolation, Fall 3:49
285 Pounds
Ian Butterbrodt (1-2)
No. 2 Jere Heino (Campbell) def. Butterbrodt in Second Round, Dec. 7-5
Butterbrodt def. Evan Callahan (Harvard) in Consolation, MD 12-0
Aaron Costello (Iowa) def. Butterbrodt in Consolation, Dec. 4-1
James Valentino (0-2)
Aaron Costello (Iowa) def. Valentino in Second Round, Disqualification
Arthur Grubba (Omega Training Center) def. Valentino in Consolation, Fall 1:29
The Bears tallied two place-winners at Midlands for the first time since 2014 as Viruet (Springfield, Mass.) – the No. 7 seed – went 3-1 on Sunday, including a victory in the fifth-place bout, to complete the tournament with a 6-2 record while LaFragola – the No. 5 seed – finished the event with a 5-3 overall record.
"I'm very pleased with our team's performance this weekend at the Midlands Championships," Brown head coach Todd Beckerman said. "Especially having two placers at such a prestigious event is a great accomplishment. We saw a high level of competition this weekend, which will help prepare us for our upcoming dual season and postseason championship."
In the team standings, Brown came in a tie for 14th place out of 67 teams with 38.0 points, marking the program's highest team finish at the event since 2013. Iowa won the team title with 184.0 points. Competition at the event included four of the top 10, eight of the top 15, and 11 of the top 25 teams in the country.
Viruet placed at a tournament for the third time this season as he won his weight class at the Bearcat Open and the Navy Classic while LaFragola placed for the second time this year after winning his weight class at the Bearcat Open.
On Sunday, Viruet – ranked No. 19 at 165 according to Intermat – topped Troy Keller of Buffalo, 8-3, and No. 6 seed Joseph Gunther of Illinois, 3-0, before dropping a major decision to No. 4 seed Bryce Steiert of Northern Iowa, 14-2. Viruet responded with a 5-0 win over Northern Illinois' Caden McWhirter in the fifth-place match.
LaFragola opened the second day of competition with victories over No. 3 seed Kevin Parker of Princeton, 16-10, and Thomas Penola of Purdue, 10-3. He dropped a major decision to Fresno State's Jackson Hemauer, 12-2, and a narrow 4-3 decision to No. 8 seed Gavin Hoffman of Ohio State in the fifth-place match to close the day.
Sophomore Hunter Kosco (Canal Fulton, Ohio) also advanced to day two, dropping a 9-6 decision to No. 10 seed Jens Lantz of Wisconsin in the consolation of the 133-pound weight class on Sunday.
Next, Brown will compete at the Franklin & Marshall Open on Jan. 5.
Saturday Recap
Sophomore Hunter Kosco and seniors Jon Viruet and CJ LaFragola each tallied three wins to pace Brown University wrestling on the first day of the 56th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on Saturday at Sears Centre Arena.
Kosco (Canal Fulton, Ohio) and Viruet (Springfield, Mass.) both opened the day with three straight victories to reach the quarterfinals at 133 and 165 pounds respectively while LaFragola (Little Egg Harbor, N.J.) registered a trio of wins at 184 pounds, including a victory over a seeded opponent in his last match, to remain in contention for placing on Sunday.
Kosco charted a pair of victories via decision over foes from Old Dominion and Penn to start the day before advancing past No. 1 seed Nathan Tomasello via injury default. Kosco dropped a decision to Paul Glynn of Iowa in the quarterfinals and will meet No. 10 seed Jens Lantz of Wisconsin in the consolation on Sunday.
Viruet – the No. 7 seed and ranked No. 19 nationally at 165 according to Intermat – recorded three straight wins to begin the day, topping opponents from Central Michigan, South Dakota State, and Northern Illinois. After dropping a decision in sudden victory to No. 2 seed Alex Marinelli of Iowa, he will face Buffalo's Troy Keller in the consolation on Sunday.
LaFragola – the No. 5 seed at 185 – opened the day with a 12-3 major decision over Northern Illinois' Michael Aldrich. Following a setback in the next round, he defeated teammate AJ Pedro and No. 7 seed Jordan Atienza of Central Michigan to proceed to Sunday's competition. He will wrestle No. 3 seed Kevin Parker of Princeton in the consolation tomorrow.
Junior Jimmy Pawelski (Park Ridge, Ill.) and senior Christian LaBrie (Exeter, R.I.) each earned two wins apiece at 141 and 157 pounds respectively. LaBrie notched the Bears' only two pins of the day. Junior Trey Keeley (Washington, Ill.), sophomore AJ Pedro (Methuen, Mass.), and senior Ian Butterbrodt (North Andover, Mass.) all picked up one win.
In the team standings, Brown stood in a tie for 16th place out of 67 teams with 24.0 points at the end of its competition for the day. Iowa led the field with 114.5 points at the end of day one. Competition at the event includes four of the top 10, eight of the top 15, and 11 of the top 25 teams in the nation.
Brown Results
125 Pounds
Trey Keeley (1-2)
No. 13 Jay Albis (Johnson & Wales) def. Keeley in Second Round, Dec. 4-1
Keeley def. Jeremy Trinh (Fresno State) in Consolation, Dec. 4-0
Kyle Biscolglia (Northern Iowa) def. Keeley in consolation, Dec. 6-0
133 Pounds
Hunter Kosco (3-2)
Day 1, Saturday (3-1)
Kosco def. Killian Cardinale (Old Dominion) in First Round, Dec. 9-7
Kosco def. Tristin DeVincenzo (Penn) in Second Round, Dec. 13-8
Kosco def. No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (TMWC/Ohio RT) in Third Round, Injury
Paul Glynn (Iowa) def. Kosco in Quarterfinals, Dec. 4-0
Day 2, Sunday (0-1)
No. 10 Jens Lantz (Wisconsin) def. Kosco in Consolation, Dec. 9-6
141 Pounds
Jimmy Pawelski (2-2)
Pawelski def. Trevor Tarsi (Harvard) in First Round, Dec. 8-6
No. 2 Max Murin (Iowa) def. Pawelski in Second Round, Fall 2:56
Pawelski def. Conner Noonan (Oregon State) in Consolation, Dec. 4-1
Cory Crooks (Arizona State) def. Pawelski in Consolation, Dec 8-2
Colin Realbuto (0-2)
No. 5 Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) def. Realbuto in Second Round, Dec. 7-4
Wilfredo Gil (Franklin & Marshall) def. Realbuto in Consolation, Dec. 9-6
157 Pounds
Christian LaBrie (2-2)
LaBrie def. Jason Crary (University of Chicago) in First Round, Fall 2:38
No. 3 John Vanbrill (Rutgers) def. LaBrie in Second Round, Fall 4:05
LaBrie def. Aaron Kruk (Harvard) in Consolation, Fall 4:05
Kendall Coleman (Purdue) def. LaBrie in Consolation, Dec. 15-10
165 Pounds
No. 7 Seed, No. 19 Ranked Jon Viruet (Fifth Place, 6-2)
Day 1, Saturday (3-1)
Viruet def. Blake Montrie (Central Michigan) in First Round, MD 15-3
Viruet def. Logan Peterson (South Dakota State) in Second Round, Dec. 5-2
Viruet def. Kenny Moore (Northern Illinois) in Third Round, MD 8-0
No. 2 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) def. Viruet in Quarterfinals, Dec. 8-6 SV-1
Day 2, Sunday (3-1)
Viruet def. Troy Keller (Buffalo) in Consolation, Dec. 8-3
Viruet def. No. 6 Joseph Gunther (Illinois) in Consolation, Dec. 3-0
No. 4 Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa) def. Viruet in Consolation, MD 14-2
Viruet def. Caden McWhirter (Northern Illinois) in Fifth-Place Match, Dec. 5-0
184 Pounds
No. 5 Seed CJ LaFragola (Sixth Place, 5-3)
Day 1, Saturday (3-1)
LaFragola def. Michael Aldrich (Northern Illinois) in Second Round, MD 12-3
Jackson Hemauer (Fresno State) def. LaFragola in Third Round, Dec. 10-7
LaFragola def. AJ Pedro (Brown) in Consolation, Dec. 6-5
LaFragola def. No. 7 Jordan Atienza (Central Michigan) in Consolation, Dec. 9-7
Day 2, Sunday (2-2)
LaFragola def. No. 3 Kevin Parker (Princeton) in Consolation, Dec. 16-10
LaFragola def. Thomas Penola (Purdue) in Consolation, Dec. 10-3
Jackson Hemauer (Fresno State) def. LaFragola in Consolation, MD 12-2
No. 8 Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) def. LaFragola in Fifth-Place Match, Dec. 4-3
AJ Pedro (1-2)
No. 2 Cash Wilcke (Iowa) def. Pedro in Second Round, Dec. 5-0
Pedro def. Robert Ng (Penn) in Consolation, MD 12-3
No. 5 Christian LaFragola (Brown) def. Pedro in Consolation, Dec. 6-5
197 Pounds
Andrew LaBrie (0-2)
No. 5 Andrew Davison (Michigan) def. LaBrie in Second Round, Dec. 11-4
No. 12 Brett Perry (Buffalo) def. LaBrie in Consolation, Dec. 4-1
Tucker Ziegler (0-2)
No. 3 Joe Rau (Chicago RTC) def. Ziegler in First Round, Dec. 10-5
Garrett Joles (Minnesota) def. Ziegler in Consolation, Fall 3:49
285 Pounds
Ian Butterbrodt (1-2)
No. 2 Jere Heino (Campbell) def. Butterbrodt in Second Round, Dec. 7-5
Butterbrodt def. Evan Callahan (Harvard) in Consolation, MD 12-0
Aaron Costello (Iowa) def. Butterbrodt in Consolation, Dec. 4-1
James Valentino (0-2)
Aaron Costello (Iowa) def. Valentino in Second Round, Disqualification
Arthur Grubba (Omega Training Center) def. Valentino in Consolation, Fall 1:29
Players Mentioned
285 lbs
/ Wrestling
125 lbs
/ Wrestling
133 lbs
/ Wrestling
184/197 lbs
/ Wrestling
157/165 lbs
/ Wrestling
184 lbs
/ Wrestling
141 lbs
/ Wrestling
174 lbs
/ Wrestling
141 lbs
/ Wrestling
285 lbs
/ Wrestling
165 lbs
/ Wrestling
197 lbs
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