Contact: Sam Fretto, Athletics Communication Graduate Assistant, sjfretto@noctrl.edu

YORK, Pa. (Dec. 6, 2025)- Competing in a weekend-long tournament, the No.8-ranked North Central College men's wrestling team came away with four wrestlers named as champions in their respective weight classes at the New Standard Corporation Invitational hosted by York College this past weekend. The four champions helped propel the Cardinals to a first-place finish at the tournament.

Top-ranked Chip Guzman went undefeated in the tournament, winning the 125-pound weight class, going 5-0 with all matches ending in a technical fall. His opening match saw him against Aidan Carmody (TCNJ) and ended in a 17-1 score. Guzman followed that matchup by blanking Jackson Orrell (Eastern) for a 15-0 victory to move onto the quarterfinal. Guzman went on to face Michael Adams (Ursinus) and won 18-1 to advance to the semifinal. The semifinal featured a ranked matchup as Guzman faced 12th-ranked Nico Rivera (JWU), which ended 16-0. In the finals, Guzman capped off his tournament run with an 18-2 match over Joey DeAngelo (TCNJ) to win the 125-pound weight class, as well as the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Meet award. 

In the 133-pound division, Ethan Spacht made a run to the championship, which included defeating two top-ranked wrestlers. Eighth-ranked Spacht began the tournament facing Kruz McCusker (Misericordia), which ended in a pinfall 2:48 into the match. Spacht recorded a second pinfall in the second-round match against Ryan O'Rourke (JWU) in 1:15, leading him to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinal match went 4:10 before Spacht defeated Luek Reitter (TCNJ) by a 17-0 technical fall. Waiting for Spacht in the semifinal was fourth-ranked Peyton Ellis (JWU), whom Spacht won handily in a 14-4 major decision to set up a finals match against the No. 3-ranked Garrett Totten (TCNJ) in a rematch from earlier in the season. This time Spacht got the upper hand on Totten, winning in a 4-3 decision as Spacht was awarded a penalty point with 20 seconds remaining in the match. 

The Cardinals had representation at both spots in the 165-pound championship match as Harrison Konder met teammate Mekhi Cave, where Konder got the better of Cave, winning in a 1-0 decision. Konder entered the tournament as the one seed in the bracket and made his way through beginning with a 4-0 decision over Jacob Weaver (Misericordia). He followed up the decision with a pinfall within 1:05 against Dan Giordano. Konder scored a 16-0 technical fall victory over Jonny Beckett (Eastern) in the quarterfinal and advanced to the championship match with a 4-1 decision over Viviano Gutierrez (USMMA). 

Cave began his run facing the second-seeded Carter Davis (Penn College), ranked 13th nationally, and got the victory in a 6-5 decision, scoring a takedown with 35 seconds remaining. In the second match, Cave moved on with a 7-3 decision over Brandon DellaPia (Alfred) and advanced to the semifinal with a 6-5 decision, defeating Nicholas DeLorenzo (Eastern). Facing 14th-ranked Tallion Elliot (Marymount), Cave picked up a second-ranked win with a 7-3 decision. 

Unseeded Jake Luce placed first in the 174-pound bracket, punctuated by a ranked win in the championship match. Luce's run began with a 16-6 major decision over Anthony Matas (Misericordia). The following match saw Luce dominate Ian Harris (Marymount) in a 15-0 technical fall, where Luce recorded four nearfalls to advance. In the quarterfinal Luce pinned Lincoln Archibald (Penn College) in 1:24 to move on to the semifinals. Facing second-seeded Shane Reitsma (JWU), Luce managed a 3-2 decision, setting up a showdown against the one seed. In the championship match, Luce faced 13th-ranked AJ Cerulli (Ursinus), which ended in a 9-2 decision in favor of Luce. 

Taking third place in the tournament at 197 pounds, AJ Frescura ended the tournament with a 4-1 record. Frescura scored back-to-back pinfalls over Jose Tapia (Eastern) in 1:44 and John Betancourt (JWU) in 5:18 to kick off his run. Frescura stalled in the semifinals, falling to Josh Stahl by a 17-1 technical fall. Frescura picked up a 9-4 decision win on Mohammed Fofana (Marymount) to get into the third-place match. The third-place match was a rematch between Frescura and Betancourt, where Frescura picked up the pin at 4:49. 

Fifth seed Tyler Starr placed fourth in the 149-pound bracket after starting off with a pair of victories in the tournament. Starr defeated Jared Spahn (JWU) in an 11-4 decision before moving on to face Adonis Iparraguirre (Marymount) in the next round. Starr defeated the unseeded Iparraguirre with a 14-3 major decision. Starr's run in the championship bracket came to an end after he fell to JJ Giordano (TCNJ) as Giordano managed to get a takedown with seven seconds remaining to steal the match. Starr advanced to the third-place match with a 16-0 technical fall and an 11-10 decision to set up a rematch with Giordano, where Starr fell again by a decision, this time scored 6-1. 

Competing against other ranked teams, such as third-ranked TCNJ, 11th-ranked Johnson & Wales, 17th-ranked Ithaca, and 22nd-ranked Washington & Lee, the Cardinals came away the tournament winners with 129.5 points, followed by Washington & Lee with 125.5 points and Ursinus in third with 118.5. 

The Cardinals return home for the 61st Annual North Central College Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 13, inside of the Wilde Res/Rec Center on the campus of North Central College.