Andrew Perelka | John Carroll University
Andrew Perelka | John Carroll University
John Carroll Wrestling took on the Citrus Invitational in Fort Lauderdale on December 28 and 29 during the team's annual trip down to Florida.
The Blue Streaks placed 8th out of 16 teams, having one champion, a top-four finisher, and two other wrestlers earning top 10 in their respective brackets.
The highlight of the tournament was Andrew Perelka, who went 5-0 to win the 133-pound weight class, earning his third consecutive first-place finish at the Citrus Invitational. Perelka hammered the competition in typical fashion, winning his first-round match by pin (0:43) and his second-round match by technical fall (16-1). Perelka would then pin his opponent in the quarterfinals (0:39) and semifinals (5:14) to bring him to the finals. In the finals, Perelka had a dominant victory, winning 20-4 and scoring a technical fall.
Patrick McGraw placed fourth in the 157-pound weight class, went 4-2, and earned 3 major decisions. In the first three rounds of the tournament, McGraw dominated his opponents, winning 18-5, 15-4, and 14-6, respectively. After a tough loss in the semifinals, McGraw would beat Gabriel Smith of Cornell College 6-0, sending him to the third-place match. McGraw would narrowly lose 6-1, giving him a fourth-place finish.
Other notable performances came from Stefan Farian (184 lbs.) and Jesse Kanatzar (197 lbs.) who both placed 9th in their respective brackets. Farian would go 6-2, losing to 7th place Brian Ramos of Augsburg College due to injury. Kanatzar went 5-2, scoring one pin and barely losing by decision (5-3) to give him a ninth place finish.
The Blue Streaks are spending the next week training in the Florida Keys, then returning to competition at the Bobcat Duals in Miami on January 6.
Original source can be found here.
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