READING, Pa. — The Shenandoah University Wrestling team kicked off its 2026-27 campaign at the Tonee Ellis Memorial Invite, taking 9th place in the 15-team field with 74 team points. The Hornets saw five wrestlers place in the top eight in their weight classes, with 13 of the 14 wrestlers scoring points for the team.
 

THE RUNDOWN

First-year Luca Butera was the highest-placing Hornet at the tournament, securing 3rd place at 125 pounds. He opened his day with a 4-2 decision over Colin Marano of Shippensburg, followed by an 11-3 major decision over Spencer Crawley of Albright. Butera lost in the semifinal to Abramm Schaffer of Alvernia by fall and claimed bronze after a medical forfeit in the third-place match.

Anakin Burks took 5th place at 133 pounds. He opened the tournament with a pin over Lukas Grodzki of Alvernia before losing a close decision in the quarterfinal to Antonio Intintoli of Western New England, 7-5. Burks pinned his next two opponents in the consolation match before claiming 5th place after a no-contest with Toby Eveleth of Gettysburg.

Griffin Stewart also took 5th place in his weight class, 165 pounds. His day started with a pair of sub-60-second pins over Neil Reichman of Delaware Valley and Cannon Vernon of Rowan College of South Jersey. Stewart would suffer his lone loss in the quarterfinal to Beknazar Baiyshbekov of Albright by fall at the 5:47 mark. His run through the consolation bracket included a fall over Camden Hull of Alvernia, followed by a 12-0 major decision over Tanner Bellomo of Alfred and a pin in the 5th-place match over Bennett Brumbley of Albright.

First-year Thomas Thorpe claimed 7th place at 174 pounds after a 4-2 day on the mat. He opened with a 10-3 decision loss to Joe Dietz of Gettysburg before taking two straight wins in the early consolation bracket: a 5-4 decision over fellow Hornet Alexander Ouzts and a 15-0 technical fall over Ronan Klug of Alfred. His second loss came as an 11-0 major decision against William Knapp of Alvernia, but Thorpe would end his day in the win column with a 10-6 decision over Josh Joubert of Eastern.

Finally, Daniel Basil-Barker took 8th place in the heavyweight division, going 3-3 on the day. After falling in the opening round by fall to Ross Worlds of Eastern, he would win three straight in the consolation bracket: by fall over Cartyer Van Kley of Muhlenberg, by 4-1 decision over Nathanael Obrzut of Delaware Valley, and by 4-1 decision over Timothy Duke of Alfred. His final two matches would end in falls to Colton Hai and Aaron Johnson of Alfred.
 

FULL RESULTS

 

• Luca Butera (16 Points)
  • Champ. Round 1: BYE
  • Champ. Round 2: Won vs. Colin Marano (Shippensburg) via DEC (4-2)
  • Quarterfinal: Won vs. Spencer Crawley (Albright College) via MD (11-3)
  • Semifinal: Lost vs. Abramm Schaffer (Alvernia University) via Fall (7-0 2:03)
  • 3rd Place Match: Won vs. Rocco Monteferrante (Alvernia University) via Medical Forfeit (0-0)

• Anakin Burks (16 Points)
  • Champ. Round 1: BYE
  • Champ. Round 2: Won vs. Lukas Grodzki (Alvernia University) via Fall (3-0 1:31)
  • Quarterfinal: Lost vs. Antonio Intintoli (Western New England) via DEC (7-5)
  • Cons. Round 4: Won vs. Zach Owens (Gettysburg) via Fall (3-0 1:48)
  • Cons. Semi: Won vs. Noah Gilgore (Shippensburg) via Fall (6-0 2:15)
  • 5th Place Match: Won vs. Toby Eveleth (Gettysburg) via No Contest (0-0)

• Heath Burks (2.5 Points)
  • Champ. Round 1: Lost vs. Parker Trento (Alfred State) via TF (16-1 5:11)
  • Cons. Round 1: Won vs. Isaiah Jiles (Camden County College) via Fall (13-1 1:26)
  • Cons. Round 2: Lost vs. Isisah Womack (Eastern) via TF (19-2 3:39)
• Matias Merino (2 Points)
  • Champ. Round 1: Lost vs. Danny Carrozza (Gettysburg) via Fall (8-7 3:17)
  • Cons. Round 1: Won vs. Masen Cruz (Rowan College of South Jersey) via TF (16-1 2:37)
  • Cons. Round 2: Lost vs. Kyle Collins (Gettysburg) via Fall (11-1 5:55)

• Bryan Mpengo (2.5 Points)
  • Champ. Round 1: Lost vs. Antonio DeCarlo (Albright College) via Fall (6-7 1:08)
  • Cons. Round 1: Won vs. Zacharie Coulibaly (UMBC) via Fall (10-4 2:43)
  • Cons. Round 2: Lost vs. Joseph Stanzione (Muhlenberg) via Fall (7-0 1:21)
• Jose Alvarenga Giron (2.5 Points)
  • Champ. Round 1: Won vs. Isaac Obando (Muhlenberg) via TF (17-1 4:17)
  • Champ. Round 2: Lost vs. Elijah Trader (Camden County College) via DEC (12-11)
  • Cons. Round 2: Lost vs. Eoghan Ohara (Muhlenberg) via Fall (3-0 0:36)

• Angel Fowler 
  • Champ. Round 1: Lost vs. Nicholas DeLorenzo (Eastern) via TF (15-0 2:02)
  • Cons. Round 1: BYE
  • Cons. Round 2: Lost vs. Michael Hasson (Delaware Valley) via Fall (7-0 1:29)
• Griffin Stewart (19 Points)
  • Champ. Round 1: Won vs. Neil Reichman (Delaware Valley) via Fall (3-0 0:52)
  • Champ. Round 2: Won vs. Gannon Vernon (Rowan College of South Jersey) via Fall (3-0 0:53)
  • Quarterfinal: Lost vs. Beknazar Baiyshbekov (Albright College) via Fall (19-5 5:47)
  • Cons. Round 4: Won vs. Camden Hull (Alvernia University) via Fall (7-0 1:17)
  • Cons. Semi: Won vs. Tanner Bellomo (Alfred State) via MD (12-0)
  • 5th Place Match: Won vs. Bennett Brumbley (Albright College) via Fall (3-0 1:18)

• Aidan Kammar (1 Point)
  • Champ. Round 1: Won vs. Ryad Belguet (Alvernia University) via DEC (10-7)
  • Champ. Round 2: Lost vs. Davis Keppley (Albright College) via TF (16-1 7:00)
  • Cons. Round 2: Lost vs. Griffen King (Shippensburg) via DEC (17-11)
• Alexander Ouzts (2.5 Points)
  • Champ. Round 1: Lost vs. Jacob Ebaugh (Alvernia University) via DEC (13-8)
  • Cons. Round 1: BYE
  • Cons. Round 2: Won vs. Jonathan Braun (Bethany College) via Default (4-3 1:21)
  • Cons. Round 3: Lost vs. Thomas Thorpe (Shenandoah University) via DEC (5-4)
• Thomas Thorpe (7 Points)
  • Champ. Round 1: BYE
  • Champ. Round 2: Lost vs. Joe Dietz (Gettysburg) via DEC (10-3)
  • Cons. Round 2: BYE
  • Cons. Round 3: Won vs. Alexander Ouzts (Shenandoah University) via DEC (5-4)
  • Cons. Round 4: Won vs. Ronan Klug (Alfred State) via TF (15-0 1:13)
  • Cons. Semi: Lost vs. William Knapp (Alvernia University) via MD (11-0)
  • 7th Place Match: Won vs. Josh Joubert (Eastern) via DEC (10-6)

• Marcus Cherry (2.5 Points)
  • Champ. Round 1: Won vs. Aidan Rhea (Rowan College of South Jersey) via TF (18-3 4:18)
  • Champ. Round 2: Lost vs. Paulo Cardosa (Delaware Valley) via DEC (9-5)
  • Cons. Round 2: Lost vs. Mason Richards (Alvernia University) via Fall (3-0 0:31)
• Tyler-Nicholas Ritz (4 Points)
  • Champ. Round 1: Won vs. Jordan Smith (Alfred State) via Fall (3-0 0:39)
  • Champ. Round 2: Won vs. Quincy Risper (Delaware Valley) via DEC (6-2)
  • Quarterfinal: Lost vs. Micheal Duggan (Shippensburg) via TF (17-2 5:41)
  • Cons. Round 4: Lost vs. Ryan Solomon (Gettysburg) via DEC (10-5)

• Daniel Basil-Barker (7 Points)
  • Champ. Round 1: Lost vs. Ross Worlds (Eastern) via Fall (4-0 4:52)
  • Cons. Round 1: BYE
  • Cons. Round 2: Won vs. Carter Van Kley (Muhlenberg) via Fall (3-0 1:05)
  • Cons. Round 3: Won vs. Nathanael Obrzut (Delaware Valley) via DEC (4-1)
  • Cons. Round 4: Won vs. Timothy Duke (Alfred State) via DEC (4-1)
  • Cons. Semi: Lost vs. Colton Hai (Alfred State) via Fall (4-3 2:48)
  • 7th Place Match: Lost vs. Aaron Johnson (Alfred State) via Fall (12-4 4:15)