Wrestling has Solid Performance at the Princeton Open

PRINCETON, N.J. – The Army West Point wrestling team had a solid performance in the Princeton Open on Sunday. The Black Knights were one of nine schools competing at Princeton, including Lock Haven, Princeton, Lehigh, and Rutgers. Army saw success with ten Cadet-Athletes finishing in the top five. Freshman Gunner Filipowicz dominated the mat, winning the 174 lbs. final. 

How It Happened 
The Black Knights competed against eight schools, which included host Princeton, No. 26 Rutgers, No. 25 Lehigh, No. 21 Lock Haven, Johnson & Wales University, Rider, Hofstra, and Bloomsburg University. The Black Knights had eight athletes reach the semifinals. 

In the 125-weight class, sophomore Charles Farmer won his first match by defeating West Point Prep's Luke Sirianni by a Tech Fall (17-2, 3:24). Farmer went on to defeat Bloomsburg's, Bronson Garber by a 21-7 major decision. Farmer advanced to the semifinals, where he fell to Johnson & Wales' Joziah Fry by a decision (4-0). Farmer finished third, defeating teammate Joe Couch by an 8-5 decision. Couch defeated his first two opponents where he fell to Lehigh's Luke Stanich by a tech fall (19-4, 4:24). Freshman Noah Tonsor also saw success, defeating his first two opponents, reaching the quarterfinals where he fell to Stanich by a tech fall (18-2, 4:55). 

At the 133 weight, Daniel Uhorchuk commanded the mat. In the Round of 16, Uhorchuk defeated Princeton's Nick Kayal by a decision (15-9). Daniel advanced to the quarterfinals, competing against Nieko Malone of Rider. Uhorchuk defeated Malone by a 7-6 decision. Uhrochuk advanced to the semifinals, where he was bested by Rider's Richie Koehler by a decision (8-4). Daniel Uhorchuk finished fourth after falling to Lock Haven's Gable Strickland by an 8-4 decision. 

Senior Ty Morris saw success on the mat. In his first match of the day, Morris defeated (#30 in the country) Josh Mason of Bloomsburg by a 6-3 decision. Morris went on to defeat Lock Haven's Wyat Fox by an 8-7 decision. Ty reached the quarterfinals where he fell to Lehigh's Malyke Hines by a decision (5-0). In the 149-weight class, seniors Matthew Williams and Thomas Deck saw success on the mat. Deck won his two matches, advancing to the quarterfinals where he defeated his teammate Williams by an 8-3 decision. Deck moved on to the semifinals, where he was bested by Cross Wasilewski by a 4-2 decision. Deck finished third after winning the consolation duals.  

In the Round of 16, Williams defeated The College of New Jersey's Mike Conklin by a tech fall (17-1, 3:29). In consolations, Williams commanded the mat, finishing fifth after defeating Lehigh's Drew Munch by a 17-3 major decision.  

At 165, freshman Dakota Morris had a successful day, going 3-1 on the day. Morris defeated Lock Haven's Aiden Gaugler with a tech fall (5-0, 7:00). Morris also bested Lehigh's Tyler Sung by a tech fall (16-0, 2:24). Morris advanced to the semifinals where he defeated Caden Dobbins by a 5-0 decision. Morris finished second at the Princeton Open after falling to Lehigh's Jake Logan by a 3-2 decision.  

Freshman Gunner Filipowicz dominated the mat. He first faced off against Johnson & Wales' Scott Defex, defeating him by a 15-6 major decision. Filipowicz went on to face Lehigh's Thayne Lawrence in the quarterfinals. Filipowicz bested Lawrence by a decision (12-5). In the semifinals, Filipowicz defeated Rider's Micheal Wilson by a 9-6 decision. Filipowicz advanced to the finals, defeating Lock Haven's John Miller by a 6-2 decision. 

In the 197-weight class, Daniel Lawrence and Wolfgang Frable saw success on the mat. Frable won his first two matches, reaching the quarterfinals, where he was bested by his teammate Lawrence. Lawrence advanced to the semifinals, defeating Rider's Azeem Bell by a 4-1 decision. Lawrence finished second in the Princeton Open after Lehigh's Michael Beard bested Lawrence by a tech fall (17-1, 3:15). 

At heavyweight, freshmen Gage Cook and Lucas Stoddard saw success on the mat. Cook won his first two matches, reaching the quarterfinals. Cooked competed against Lock Haven's Isaac Reid. Reid bested Cook by a major decision (13-3). 

Lucas Stoddard commanded the mat. Stoddard won his first match, defeating Lock Haven's Ethan Miller by a tech fall (15-0, 6:52). He advanced to the Round of 16, where he bested Hofstra's Danny Church by a major decision (8-0). In the quarterfinals, Stoddard competed against West Point Prep's Sam Sorenson. Stoddard bested Sorenson by an 8-0 major decision. Stoddard then defeated Princeton's Matthew Cover by a 6-3 decision. In the finals, Stoddard faced off against Lehigh's Nathan Taylor. Stoddard finished second in the Princeton Open after falling to Taylor by a tech fall (19-3, 5:07). 

For complete results, click HERE.

Coach's Corner 
"Overall, a solid day of competition from our guys. Having three freshmen make the finals and get really valuable experience is important for this team. We are a team that is going to have to continue to develop and if we do, we can be really good. Filipowicz competed with energy and enthusiasm, and he won the battle of effort over every opponent, and that translated to getting his hand raised.  

Looking forward to getting back to work and making progress." – Head Coach Kevin Ward 

Cadet's Corner 
"I definitely made plenty of mistakes today, but I made them going 100 miles an hour. It's ok to make mistakes just commit to them." – Gunner Filipowicz 

Up Next
Army continues its road campaign, traveling to Bethlehem, Pa. for the Journeymen WrangleMania, where the Black Knights will have duals against Purdue and No. 21 Lock Haven, on Saturday, November 11 at 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. 

Follow Along 
For complete coverage of Army West Point Wrestling, follow the Black Knights on Twitter and Instagram at @ArmyWP_Wres and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com