F&M Wrestling Sunday, January 29 vs. Sacred Heart (2 p.m.)

LAST TIME OUT

vs. Gettysburg, LIU & Hofstra

• F&M went 2-1 this past week
• The Diplomats celebrated Senior Day on with a 36-6 victory over Gettysburg, winning eight of the 10 matches that were contested
• In EIWA action on Saturday, F&M won seven of 10 bouts during a 29-11 victory at LIU before falling 21-12 at Hofstra
• Mason Leiphart (125 lbs.) and Pat Phillips (133 lbs.) both went 2-0 during EIWA action last Saturday after deferring their spots in the lineup during the Senior Nigh dual
• Noah Fox (174 lbs.), James Conway (184 lbs.), and John Crawford (197 lbs.) all reached or exceeded the 20 win plateau during 2-1 weeks between three duals
• Aidan O'Shea (141 lbs.), Bryce Kresho (149 lbs.), and Cenzo Pelusi (285 lbs.) also went 2-1 during the past week as the Diplomats posted an 18-12 combined record during the varsity dual meets

Weekly Schedule

Sunday, January 29

vs. Sacred Heart (2 p.m.) - Mayser Center

Diplomat Notables

F&M vs. Sacred Heart

• All-time: F&M leads 10-4
• At F&M: Diplomats are 4-2
• First meeting: February 19, 2000 (F&M won, 34-13)
• Last meeting: January 30, 2022 (F&M won, 28-13)
• Last Sacred Heart win: January 19, 2020 (18-17, SHU won 65-64 on criteria)
• Current streak: F&M + 1
• Sacred Heart joined the EIWA for the 2011-12 championships and the Diplomats have wrestled every year since then

Common Dual Opponents in 2022-23 Season

• SHU lost to LIU, 19-18 (F&M won 29-11)
• SHU lost to VMI, 35-3 (F&M lost 24-15)

Head-to-Head F&M/Sacred Heart Results this Season

• Sacred Heart and F&M have both competed at the Keystone Classic, Wilkes Invitational, and Lehman Open
• The Diplomats are 6-2 in those head-to-head matchups
• 133: Josh Hillard WBF Ian Ratchford; 6:15 (Keystone)
• 149: Matt Laurie dec. Bryce Kresho; 10-6 (Lehman)
• 149: Chris Naegele dec. Avery Clarke; 7-5 (Lehman)
• 157: Nick Alvarez WBF Calum Price; 2:37 (Wilkes)
• 157: Nick Alvarez TF Joey Cyr; 3:00 (15-0) (Lehman)
• 157: Anthony Micci dec. Luca Pirozzolo; 3-1 (Lehman)
• 197: John Crawford TF Logan Michael; 5:15 (18-3) (Lehman)
• 285: Chase Thompson dec. Marc Berisha; 3-1

F&M Dual Notables

• F&M holds a 64-46 individual bout record in dual meets, registering bonus points during 33 of those victories
• Mason Leiphart (125 lbs.) is a team-best 9-1 in dual meets, with Cenzo Pelusi (285 lbs.) holding a 6-1 record in duals
• Seven of F&M's regular starters have winning dual records this season: Pat Phillips (133 lbs. / 7-3); Aidan O'Shea (141 lbs. / 4-3), Noah Fox (174 lbs. / 8-3); James Conway (184 lbs. / 7-4); John Crawford (197 lbs. / 9-2)
• Gio Diaz (133 lbs.) is a perfect 2-0 in duals this year
• The Diplomats have wrestlers with winning records at seven of the 10 weights

F&M in National Rankings

John Crawford (197 lbs.)

• John Crawford was ranked #32 in the first NCAA Division I Coaches' Ranking
• Crawford has registered wins against three wrestlers who appeared in the first coaches' ranking: #21 Michael Battista (Virginia), #31 Max Shaw, and #33 Nick Willhem (Indiana)
• He has wrestled nine matches against wrestlers in the top 33 of those rankings this season
• Crawford has already placed at the Lehman Open (second), Southeast Open (fourth), and Keystone Classic (fifth)
• The coaches' ranking is one of several criteria that will be evaluated by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee during the at-large selection and seeding process along with head-to-head competition, quality wins, Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), conference tournament placement, results versus common opponents and win percentage
• The second and third coaches' ranking will be announced on Thursday, February 9 and Thursday, February 23. Those two sets of rankings will also include RPI rankings. The third and final release in this series will be used, along with Division I winning percentage, to determine the number allocations each conference receives at the 10 different weight classes.

Division I National Leaders

• Franklin & Marshall has won 252 individual matches this season, recording bonus points in 135 of those victories (53.5%)
• That total includes 50 falls, 31 tech falls, and 37 major decisions
• 21 F&M wrestlers have registered at least one pin this season

Mason Leiphart (125 lbs.) - 10 Tech Falls & 23 Wins

• True freshman Mason Leiphart leads all Division I wrestlers with 10 technical falls, four more than any other Division I wrestler
• The Diplomats' first-year has recorded bonus points in 19 of his first 23 career victories, including one fall, 10 tech falls, five major decisions, and three forfeits
• Leiphart's 23 wins are tied for the second most (Kendall Coleman/Purdue) in Division I
• He trails only Navy heavyweight Grady Griess for wins amongst Division I wrestlers
• Leiphart and Missouri's Clayton Whiting (21 wins) are the only true freshman to rank in the top 19 of Division I wrestling in total victories
• Leiphart has already tied the F&M record for tech falls in a season (10) which was originally set by All-American Rick Durso '16 during his senior season in which he compiled a 39-10 record
• Leiphart already holds sole possession of fourth place in program history for career tech falls
• Brent Wily '85 is third in school history with 11 technical falls
• The program record for tech falls in a career was set by James Nalbone '91 (13)

Pat Phillips (133 lbs.) - 5 tech falls

• Phillips has won seven of his last 10 bouts, registering technical falls during four of his last nine victories
• The F&M sophomore is ranked fourth in Division I with four tech falls
• Franklin & Marshall is one of just two Division I schools (Northern Colorado) that has two wrestlers with at least five technical falls

Aidan O'Shea (133 lbs.) - 6 Major Decisions

• Aidan O'Shea's six major decisions are tied for the ninth-most in Division I wrestling, just two behind the national leaders (Lachlan McNeil; North Carolina & Malcolm Wiley; Presbyterian)
• O'Shea's six major decisions trail only Bellarmine's Michael Schiffhauer (7) for the most major decisions in Division I among all true freshman
• The last Diplomat to record six major decisions in a season was Jose Diaz '22 during the 2018-19 season

Individual Wins

• In addition to Leiphart's 23 victories which are the second-most in Division I, Pat Phillips (133 lbs.), Noah Fox (174 lbs.), and John Crawford (197 lbs.) all have 21 wins to rank ninth in Division I
• James Conway (184 lbs.) is tied for 20th place in Division I wrestling with his 20 victories
• Franklin & Marshall is the only school in Division I wrestling with five wrestlers who have won at least 20 minutes
• The Diplomats are one of just seven DI schools with multiple 20 match winners: Bellermine (4), Appalachian State (3), Indiana (3), Central Michigan (2), George Mason (2), Purdue (2)

Assistant Coach Steve Borja

• Entering 10th season at Franklin & Marshall
• Previously served as an assistant coach at Millersville University and Manheim Central High School
• Graduated from Virginia Tech in 2008 where he was a two-time first-team All-CC wrestler who was ranked as high as fourth in the country during the 2007 season

Next Week

Saturday, February 4

Messiah Open (9 a.m.)

EIWA TICKETS NOW ON SALE

The deadline to purchase tickets in the Franklin & Marshall section is Thursday, February 2