F&M Wrestling Friday, February 10 vs. Millersville (7:00 PM) - Rupp Cup

LAST TIME OUT

vs. Sacred Heart

• F&M is coming off of a 35-11 EIWA victory over Sacred Heart during its last dual meet action
• The Diplomats won seven of the 10 weight classes against Sacred Heart, including six bonus point victories
• Bryce Kresho (149 lbs.) was the lone Diplomat to record a fall in the dual
• Mason Leiphart (125 lbs.), Pat Phillips (133 lbs.), Noah Fox (174 lbs.), and John Crawford (197 lbs.) all recorded technical falls, while James Conway (184 lbs.) won by injury default
• More recently, F&M sent a limited squad to compete at the Messiah Open this past weekend where the Diplomats had six place winners
• Messiah Open Place Winners
• Bryce Kresho (149 lbs.) - Third Place
• Harrison Shapiro (197 lbs.) - Third Place
• Josh Hillard (141 lbs.) - Fifth Place
• Tyler O'Boyle (285 lbs.) - Fifth Place
• Chase Thompson (285 lbs.) - Sixth Place
• Avery Clarke (149 lbs.) - Eighth Place

Weekly Schedule

Friday, February 10, 2023

vs. Millersville (7 p.m.) - Mayser Center

Diplomat Notables

F&M vs. Millersville

• All-Time: Millersville leads the series 16-13
• At F&M: Diplomats are 6-9
• First meeting: 1993-94 season; F&M won 28-19
• Last meeting: February 11, 2022 (F&M won, 29-10)
• Last Millersville win: February 13, 2019 (22-21)
• Current streak: F&M + 1
• The Diplomats have won eight of the nine meetings under head coach Mike Rogers
• The Rupp Cup was first presented in honor of Lancaster County's wrestling patriarch - Ted Rupp - during the 2008 season
• F&M leads the Rupp Cup series by a 10-4 margin

Common Dual Opponents in 2022-23 Season

• Franklin & Marshall and Millersville do not have any common dual opponents this season, but both teams have competed at the Shorty Hitchcock Memorial, David H. Lehman '68 F&M Open, and Messiah Open
• Millersville owns a 6-8 record in the head-to-head opponents this season, but none of those matches are projected to be wrestled on Friday

Rematches from 2022 Dual

• The Marauders return nine of their wrestlers who battled for the Rupp Cup
• F&M has five first-years projected to wrestle in the lineup, but there are still three potential rematches on tap from the 2022 dual
• 133: Devin Flannery (MU) picked up a 6-4 sudden victory against Pat Phillips (F&M) during the first meeting
• 184: James Conway (F&M) defeated Anthony Giampietro (MU) in a high-scoring 11-8 decision a season ago

F&M Dual Notables

• F&M holds a 71-49 individual bout record in dual meets, registering bonus points during 39 of those victories
• Mason Leiphart (125 lbs.) is a team-best 10-1 in dual meets, with Cenzo Pelusi (285 lbs.) holding a 7-1 dual competition
• Seven of F&M's regular starters have winning dual records this season: Pat Phillips (133 lbs. / 8-3); Bryce Kresho (149 lbs. / 4-3); Noah Fox (174 lbs. / 9-3); James Conway (184 lbs. / 8-4); John Crawford (197 lbs. / 10-2)
• Gio Diaz (133 lbs.) is a perfect 3-0 in duals this year
• The Diplomats have wrestlers with winning records at eight of the 10 weights

RUPP CUP

• The Franklin & Marshall Diplomats and the Millersville Marauders meet annually for the battle of the Rupp Cup in honor of Lancaster County’s wrestling patriarch, Ted Rupp
• A student at the F&M Academy and Franklin & Marshall, Rupp maintained strong ties to both his alma mater and Millersville University.
• In 1948-49, Rupp coached both Millersville and F&M, finishing with a 20-2 combined record.
• That is believed to have been the only time in collegiate wrestling history when one man coached two colleges concurrently.
• In 1950-51 when F&M head coach Austin Bishop was recalled to the Pentagon for military service, Rupp took over the Diplomats' program on a temporary volunteer basis while maintaining his position with Millersville.
• In spite of difficulties, he earned a conference title at Millersville (10-0) and a 10-1 dual meet record at Franklin & Marshall, with the lone loss coming to Lehigh University, for a combined 20-1 record.
• He also assisted Roy Phillips with F&M coaching duties in 1961-62 when his regular assistant was called back to military service.
• In his retirement, Rupp continued to support the Diplomats' wrestling program. In 1995, he agreed to spearhead a fundraising drive to endow the Franklin & Marshall coaching position.
• Rupp graduated from Franklin & Marshall as a member of the Class of 1935 and started his teaching career at the F&M Academy in 1935 where he also coached wrestling, guiding the teams to four consecutive national prep-school championships.
• After the Academy closed in 1943, he taught for a year in Pittsburgh and spent two years as a Naval Officer in WW II before teaching at Millersville for 36 years
• Rupp started the wrestling program at Millersville and also served as a professor in French and Spanish, retiring from that position in 1979
• At Millersville, Rupp posted an 71-18-2 record (.791 winning ratio) in 11 season from 1946 to 1952, including the only conference titles in program history
• In 1995, Rupp was inducted into the inaugural class of the Millersville University Athletic Hall of Fame and remains one of just a few non-Millersville graduates selected.
• Rupp was also inducted into the following halls of fame: Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches (1975), PSAC Wrestling Coaches (1983), Franklin & Marshall College (1990), and the Pennsylvania/Susquehanna Valley Chapter (1992)
• He received the prestigious George Kirchner Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to Lancaster County sports in 1984 and received a Lifetime Service Award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1999.
• Rupp was additionally a PIAA Certified High School official for 50 years.
• In honor of his distinguished service to both institutions, the Rupp Cup is now awarded to the winner of the annual meeting.

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 10 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 281 individual matches this season, recording bonus points in 156 of those victories (55.5%)
• That total includes 61 falls, 36 tech falls, and 40 major decisions
• 23 F&M wrestlers have registered at least one pin this season

Mason Leiphart (125 lbs.) - 11 Tech Falls & 24 Wins

• True freshman Mason Leiphart leads all Division I wrestlers with 10 technical falls, three more than any other Division I wrestler
• The Diplomats' first-year has recorded bonus points in 20 of his first 24 career victories, including one fall, 11 tech falls, five major decisions, and three forfeits
• Leiphart's 24 wins are tied for 10th in all of Division I wrestling
• George Mason's Markel Baker (25 wins) and Indiana's Gabe Sollars (24 wins) are the only other true-freshman to rank in the top 10 nationally
• Leiphart's tech fall against Sacred Heart broke the previous F&M single-season record for tech falls which was originally set by All-American Rick Durso '16 (10 TFs) during his senior season in which he compiled a 39-10 record
• Leiphart is already tied for third in school history with Brent Wily '85 for the most tech falls in a career
• The program record for tech falls in a career was set by James Nalbone '91 (13)

Pat Phillips (133 lbs.) - 6 tech falls

• Phillips has won eight of his last 11 bouts, registering technical falls during five of his last 10 victories
• The F&M sophomore is ranked fifth in Division I with those six tech falls
• Franklin & Marshall is one of just two Division I schools (Lehigh) that has two wrestlers with at least six tech falls

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

• Aidan O'Shea's six major decisions are just one behind a top 10 mark nationally
• 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 24 victories, Pat Phillips (133 lbs.), Noah Fox (174 lbs.), and John Crawford (197 lbs.) all have 22, while James Conway (184 lbs.) has 21 victories
• Franklin & Marshall is one of just three schools (Appalachian State, Lock Haven) with at least five wrestlers who have at least 20 victories
• The Diplomats are the only school with five wrestlers who have at least 21 victories

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 UP: EIWA Championships

Saturday, March 4 & Sunday, March 5