F&M Wrestling Saturday, January 14 (7 p.m.) vs. Drexel

LAST TIME OUT

Quad Meet / Lehman Open

• F&M celebrated Lehman Open week with a full slate of action as the Diplomats hosted Brown, Davidson, and Presbyterian in a quad meet last Thursday before hosting the 10th Annual David H. Lehman '68 F&M Open on Friday
• The Diplomats dropped an EIWA dual to Brown (25-10), but rebounded with two strong victories against Davidson (W, 29-8) and Presbyterian (W, 33-9)
• F&M won eight of the 10 bouts during the dual victories against their opponents from the Southern Conference
• James Conway (184 lbs.) and Cenzo Pelusi (285 lbs.) both went a perfect 3-0 during the quad meet to pace the Diplomats
• Mason Leiphart (125 lbs.), Pat Phillips (133 lbs.), Avery Clarke (149 lbs.), Nick Alvarez (157 lbs.), Noah Fox (174 lbs.), and John Crawford (197 lbs.) all registered two victories on the day
• Leiphart (tech fall and major decision) and Clarke (two falls) registered bonus points during both of their victories as nine of the F&M's 21 individual victories came by bonus points throughout the dual meets
• Last Friday, John Crawford (197lbs.) became the sixth F&M wrestler to reach the finals of the Lehman Open when the team returned to action the following day
• Crawford won four straight matches to reach the finals, capped by a 5-3 victory versus #33 Max Shaw of North Carolina before falling to #28 Jake Koser of Navy in the finals where he dropped a 10-2 bout
• The Diplomats advanced five individuals to quarterfinals of the Lehman Open as Mason Leiphart (125 lbs.) and Noah Fox (174 lbs.), James Conway (184 lbs.), and Cenzo Pelusi (285 lbs.) joined Crawford in the quarterfinal round
• Eleven different Diplomats won at least two matches during the home invitational, with Jack Bruce (125 lbs.) and Pat Phillips (133 lbs.) also winning at least three bouts in addition to their teammates who advanced to the quarterfinals

Weekly Schedule

Saturday, January 14 vs. Drexel (7 p.m.)

Diplomat Notables

F&M vs. Drexel

• All-time: Drexel leads 17-2
• At F&M: Drexel is 7-2
• First meeting: February 4, 1979 (Drexel won, 26-18)
• Last meeting: January 11, 2018 (Drexel won, 30-12)
• Last F&M win: February 27, 1988 (21-15)
• Current streak: Drexel +15
• F&M and Drexel met every season from 2011-12 through 2017-18, but prior to that met just twice (2000 & 2004) during this century

Prior F&M vs. Drexel Matches this season

• F&M and Drexel have both competed at four tournaments together this year: Bearcat Open, Keystone Classic, Wilkes Open, and Lehman Open
• The Diplomats are 5-9 in head-to-head matches versus Drexel, but F&M's current starters own a 4-2 record throughout this season against the Dragons

F&M vs. Drexel Matchups from this season

• 125: Mason Leiphart maj. Desmond Pleasant; 12-2
• 125: Mason Leiphart TF Gabe Giampietro; 4:36 (19-0)
• 125: Antonio Mininno dec. Gio Diaz; 6-5
• 125: Jack Bruce dec. Desmond Pleasant; 5-2
• 133: Pat Phillips maj. Jaxon Maroney; 14-0
• 133: John Hildebrandt WBF Pat Phillips; 3:50
• 133: Jaxon Maroney dec. Aidan O'Shea; 7-3
• 141: Jordan Soriano dec. Sam Kotch; 13-7
• 141: Jordan Soriano dec. Bryce Kresho; 6-2
• 149: Gabe Onorato dec. Hunter Hockensmith; 4-2
• 157: Domenic D'Agostinio maj. Anthony Micci; 12-4
• 157: Connor Trowbridge WBF Chris Hisey; 4:40
• 197: John Crawford WBF Chase Levey; 3:53
• 285: Dom Petracci WBF Tyler O'Boyle; 4:09

F&M Dual Notables

• F&M holds a 42-28 individual bout record in dual meets, registering bonus points during 20 of those victories
• Mason Leiphart (125 lbs.) and John Crawford (197 lbs.) are both a team-best 6-1 in dual meets
• Pat Phillips (133 lbs.), Noah Fox (174 lbs.), and James Conway (184 lbs.) are all 5-2 in duals, with Nick Alvarez (157 lbs.) holding a 4-2 record in dual meets
• Cenzo Pelusi (285 lbs.) is a perfect 3-0 in dual meets after last week's quad meet, while Gio Diaz (2-0 at 133 lbs.) is also undefeated in limited dual action
• Eight Diplomats (who all have at least 12 individual victories) will bring winning records into Saturday's match

Division I National Leaders

• Franklin & Marshall has won 229 individual matches this season, recording bonus points in 122 of those victories (53.3%)
• That total includes 48 falls, 26 tech falls, and 32 major decisions
• 21F&M wrestlers have registered at least one pin this season

Mason Leiphart (125 lbs.) - 9 Tech Falls & 20 Wins

• True freshman Mason Leiphart leads all Division I wrestlers with nine technical falls on the season, four more than any other Division I wrestler
• Just five other true freshman have recorded at least four technical falls
• The Diplomats' first-year has recorded bonus points in 18 of his first 20 career victories, including one fall, nine tech falls, five major decisions, and three forfeits
• Leiphart's 20 wins are currently the top mark on the team and are also tied for the fifth-most in all of Division I
• The F&M record for tech falls in a season (10) was set by Rick Durso '16 during his senior season in which he compiled a 39-10 record
• Leiphart is already tied for fourth in program history for tech falls in a season with Michael Parziale '05 and Wil Gil '22)
• The program record for tech falls in a career was set by James Nalbone '91 (13)

Pat Phillips (133 lbs.) - 19 wins & 4 tech falls

• Phillips has won five of his last seven bouts and registered tech falls during three of his last season wins to move into the Division I top 10 in both categories
• The F&M sophomore is ranked eighth in tech falls and 10th in wins
• Franklin & Marshall is one of just three Division I schools who has at least two different wrestlers with at least 19 victories (Indiana, Purdue)
• Noah Fox, James Conway, and John Crawford all enter the week with 18 victories this season, just one behind a top 10 mark in Division I
• With Leiphart and Phillips also amongst the national tech fall leaders, the Diplomats are one of just seven teams with two individuals among the top 10 in that category

Josh Hillard (133 lbs.) - 8 Falls

• First-year Josh Hillard has registered falls during eight of his 15 victories
• Hillard is currently tied for fifth in Division I with those eight pins
• Only two true freshman in Division I wrestling have more falls than Hillard: Thaddeus Huff - Bellarmine (12) & Joseph Martin - Northwestern (9)
• Hillard's eight falls are the most by an F&M wrestler since Philip Robilotto also had eight during the 2018-19 season
• Hillard additionally owns two tech falls, two major decisions, and one medical forfeit, giving him bonus points during 13 of his 15 victories (86.7%)

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

• Aidan O'Shea's six major decisions are tied for the fifth-most in Division I wrestling, just one behind the national leaders
• O'Shea's six major decisions are tied with Bellarmine's Michael Schiffhauer for the most 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

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

Wednesday, January 18

vs. Gettysburg (7 p.m.)

Saturday, January 21

at LIU (12 p.m.)

at Hofstra (4 p.m.)

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