*Colston Diblasi falls in Championship match
*Alex Madrigal and Anthony Lombardo earn third place
RESULTS:   FLOWRESTLING
FR/SO BRACKET
OPEN BRACKET

Blacksburg, Va.— In the first tournament of the 2019-20 season, seven Patriots placed at the Southeast Open held on the campus of Virginia Tech.

"It was a solid start to the season," Head Coach Frank Beasley said. "We saw many improvements from last year."

"Colston lead the way with a win over a multiple time NCAA Qualifier that has been in the national ranking," added Beasley. "It was his first time down at the weight and as he continues to get adjusted to it, I think he will perform even better."

 Wrestling in the open bracket, Colston Diblasi won four straight matches at 149 pounds before falling, 15-6, to NCAA All-American and No. 2 ranked Brock Mauller (Missouri) in the championship. The RS senior won his first two matches by fall, defeating ACC wrestlers Gino Esposito (UNC), 2-0 and Alex Cruz (Virginia) 7-4. In the quarterfinals, Diblasi won by decision against Mason Wallace (Chattanooga), 8-6. He also won 9-4 in the semi-finals against two-time NCAA Qualifier Josh Finesilver (Blue Blood WC).

Alex Madrigal earned a third-place finish at 141, losing to eventual champion Joshua Heil (Campbell), 3-2 in the semi-finals. Madrigal rolled through the first two matches, winning by technical fall 17-2 against Brandon Bright (Gardner-Webb) and defeating VMI's Dominick Gallo, 12-0. Madrigal defeated Missouri's Alex Butler in the third place match.

"Alex looked great in his first college competition since March 2018," Beasley said. "He was in a very good bracket and was right in the mix to win it. He just needs to attack a little more but we are excited with the way he wrestled."

Mason's Tony Lombardo went 3-1 with three technical falls at the tournament to finish in third place overall. He fell in the semi-finals to eventual champion and No. 12 ranked Connor Flynn (Missouri) in a major decision. 

"Tony performed well in his first competition," Beasley added. "He was disappointed with his semifinals match as tactically there are a few things we need to work on with him. In all his other matches, he did a nice job getting to the positions he wanted to be in and really dominated those positions. It was impressive that he scored three technical falls."

Also competing in the open bracket, sophomore sophomore Kolby Ho finished with a 2-2 record. He earned wins against a pair of Tarheels, a 7-3 decision against Michael Goldfeder and a 9-3 win against Albert Rechenmarcher.

Four Patriots that competed in the freshman/sophomore bracket earned top 6 finishes. At Heavyweight, Jake Slinger finished third with a 3-1 record, losing in the semi-finals. Freshman Rodney Winston, Jr., wrestling unattached, finished fourth at 157 with a 2-2 record. Cornelius Schuster finished fifth at 165 pounds. After dropping the first match, Schuster won five straight matches, including three technical falls. Wrestling at 184 pounds, sophomore Paul Pierce placed sixth, with a 3-2 mark.

The Patriots travel to Albany, N.Y. to compete in the Journeymen Classic, next Sunday, November 10.