Team Scores | Final Brackets

HOBOKEN, N.J. – Junior Luke Mitchell was the lone Gettysburg College wrestler to win his opening bout and he made the most of it by finishing fourth at 184 pounds at the Centennial Conference Championships hosted by Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday.

The United States Merchant Marine Academy repeated as team champion on the strength of three champions and four runner-ups, while Gettysburg finished eighth.

It was a rough start to the conference championships for all the Bullets except Mitchell who opened the day by pinning fourth-seeded Vince Termini of Stevens in 1:42. The junior drew top seed Nate Murren of Ursinus College in his second bout and put up a stiff fight before falling 9-2. Murren went on to capture the conference title at the weight class.

In the consolation bracket, Mitchell avenged a regular season loss to McDaniel College's Will Yeo by eliminating the Green Terror grappler 10-5 and advancing to the third-place match. Pitted against Termini again, the Bullet junior was unable to grab an early advantage and fell by decision 5-2. Mitchell closed the year with a 15-17 overall record.

Senior Patrick Doherty and junior Bobby Christopher came in as Gettysburg's top candidates for reaching the podium, but each suffered a pair of close losses. At 165, Doherty was upended in his first bout 4-3 by Ursinus' Harris Papas, but he rebounded for a 10-5 victory over Washington & Lee University's Keith Jaworski in his first consolation match. Johns Hopkins University's Eric Levenseller ended Doherty's day in the semis with a 5-2 decision en route to third-place.

Christopher was slated as the fourth seed at heavyweight and was taken down in his first bout in overtime 5-3 by Ursinus' Ed Minelli. He picked up a medical forfeit win in the consolation bracket, but once again extra time proved costly to the Bullet junior as the host's James Roarty took an overtime decision 3-1 en route to the consolation title. Christopher capped a successful season with a 22-7 record.

Sophomore Michael Slabinski and junior DJ Neri each posted one win in the consolation brackets. Slabinski beat Washington & Lee's Justin Welch by decision 6-4 at 149, while Neri also picked up a decision at the expense of the Generals, beating Eric Veres 7-0 at 174. Neri narrowly missed advancing to the consolation final with a 4-3 loss to Andrew Gianscolli of Johns Hopkins.

Gettysburg capped the year 3-13 overall and 2-5 in the CC. The Bullets lose one of the team's top grapplers in Doherty to graduation, but a strong nucleus is slated to return next season including Christopher, Neri, and Mitchell.

2010 Centennial Conference Championships
141 – Kevin Homan (MUHL) dec. Matt Danielson (GC), 5-0
141 - Garrick Skuborn (MM) tech. fall Matt Danielson (GC), 17-0 (7:00)

149 – Martin Bell (MM) pinned Michael Slabinski (GC), 1:59
149 – Michael Slabinski (GC) dec. Justin Welch (WL), 6-4
149 – Ben Kaufman (JH) pinned Michael Slabinski (GC), 1:36

157 – David Dennis (WL) pinned Joe Fiore (GC), 2:04
157 – John Whitham (UC) dec. Joe Fiore (GC), 6-0

165 – Harris Papas (UC) dec. Patrick Doherty (GC), 4-3
165 – Patrick Doherty (GC) dec. Keith Jaworski (WL), 10-5
165 – Eric Levenseller (JH) dec. Patrick Doherty (GC), 5-2

174 – Justin Diesel (MM) dec. DJ Neri (GC), 2-0
174 – DJ Neri (GC) dec. Eric Veres (WL), 7-0
174 – Andrew Gianscolli (JH) dec. DJ Neri (GC), 4-3

184 – Luke Mitchell (GC) pinned Vince Termini (SIT), 1:42
184 – Nate Murren (UC) dec. Luke Mitchell (GC), 9-2
184 – Luke Mitchell (GC) dec. Will Yeo (MCD), 10-5
184 – Vince Termini (SIT) dec. Luke Mitchell (GC), 5-2

197 – Reid Mosquera (JH) dec. Marshall Puls (GC), 6-2
197 – Ernie Guaimano (SIT) dec. Marshall Puls (GC), 8-4

285 – Ed Minelli (UC) dec. Bobby Christopher (GC), 5-3 SV
285 – Bobby Christopher (GC) med. forfeit Rick Danilkowi (JH)
285 – James Roarty (SIT) dec. Bobby Christopher (GC), 3-1 SV