ALLIANCE, Oh. – The Gannon University men's wrestling team, ranked No. 8 in the NWCA Division II Preseason Coaches Poll, opened up the 2021-2022 season on Saturday with a small contingent of wrestlers at the Mount Union Invitational, headlined by senior Freddie Nixon's (Buffalo, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute) first-place finish in the 285-pound bracket. Six other Knights were placewinners, including Joey Petrella (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Bishop Hartley) (third at 174 pounds), Nick Coreno (Willoughby, Ohio/Lake Catholic) (fourth at 157), Joel Huck (Waterford, Pa./Fort LeBoeuf) (fifth at 149), Eddie Farrell (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) (seventh at 197), and a pair of eighth-place finishers (Anthony Corigliano (Clarence Center, N.Y./Clarence) at 141 and Hayden Butterfield (Erie, Pa./McDowell) at 149.) As a team, Gannon placed sixth out of 10 institutions with 82.5 team points. Ashland University took home the overall team title with a score of 188.5. 14 Gannon wrestlers picked up at least one victory on the day,
 
Nixon steamrolled through the heavyweight bracket, beginning with a 12-0 major decision over Brewton-Parker's Jesus Riano and added two decisions (2-0 over Ashland's Ty Petry and 5-0 over Ohio Northern's Brodie Stevens) to reach the semifinals. He bested Ohio Northern's Ben DePrest 3-2 to reach the finals, where he survived for an overtime victory over SUNY Brockport's Richard Knapp to claim the 285-pound title.
 
Petrella's third-place finish in the 174-pound bracket began with two falls to book a spot in the semifinals. A loss to Ashland's Daniel Beemer (7-3 decision) dropped Petrella to the consolation bracket, where he secured an 8-0 major decision over SUNY Brockport's Michael Sullivan and a 4-0 decision over Brewton-Parker's Douglas Peppers to book his spot on the podium.
 
The 157-pound bracket started well for Coreno, who reached the semifinals after winning his first two matches by decision. He dropped a 7-2 decision to Ashland's Chance Esmont, but wrestled back into the third-place match—where another Ashland wrestler, Nick Carbone, defeated him 9-4 to award fourth place to Coreno.
 
Huck also reached the semifinals at 149 pounds after earning two consecutive falls and a 7-2 quarterfinal decision over Brewton-Parker's Bradley Owens to begin the tournament. He gave up a technical fall 15-0 in the semifinal to Ashland's Carson Speelman but wrestled back for fifth place.
 
Butterfield also made a unique run through the 149-pound bracket after losing his first match of the day. He rattled off three straight falls and a technical fall to reach the fifth round of consolations before dropping a wild 13-9 decision to Brewton-Parker's Kohlby Hopper and reaching his six-match limit for the tournament, finishing with an eighth-place finish.
 
The Golden Knights travel to compete at another tournament next weekend and are off to Manheim, Pa. for the Journeyman Classic on Sunday, Nov. 14.
 
FULL RESULTS FOR GANNON UNIVERSITY WRESTLERS
 
125 – Chris Petteys (Hudson Falls, N.Y./Hudson Falls) – 0-2
133 – Jacob Gardner (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) – 1-2
141 – Reese Vollmer (Port Allegany, Pa./Port Allegany) – 0-2
141 – Anthony Corigliano (Clarence Center, N.Y./Clarence) – 1-3 (8^th place)
141 – Constantine Gehring (Owego, N.Y./Binghamton) – 1-2
141 – Parker Loera (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) – 1-2
149 – Caden Wendling (Brook Park, Ohio/Berea-Midpark) – 2-2
149 – Hayden Butterfield (Erie, Pa./McDowell) – 4-2 (8^th place)
149 – Joel Huck (Waterford, Pa./Fort LeBoeuf) – 3-2 (5^th place)
157 – Evan Fisler (Sewell, N.J./Washington Township) – 1-2
157 – Tucker Smith (Pomeroy, Ohio/Meigs) – 0-2
157 – Nick Coreno (Willoughby, Ohio/Lake Catholic) – 3-2 (5^th place)
165 – Deven Abbott (Erie, Pa./Collegiate Academy (Erie)) – 1-2
174 – Frank Guzzi (West Homestead, Pa./Steel Valley) – 0-2
174 – Joey Petrella (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Bishop Hartley) – 4-1 (3^rd place)
174 – Nicolas Marsico (McKees Rocks, Pa./Montour) – 1-2
197 – Bret Huffman (Scottdale, Pa./Southmoreland) – 0-2
197 – Eddie Farrell (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) – 2-2 (7^th place)
285 – Gehrig Hutchison (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) – 0-2
285 – Brad Crislip (Ravenna, Ohio/Ravenna) – 0-2
285 – Matt Long (Corry, Pa./Union City) – 0-2
285 – Freddie Nixon (Buffalo, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute) – 5-0 (1^st place)