HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – Sophomore Philip Conigliaro advanced to the semifinals at 165 pounds, and seven Harvard University wrestlers advanced to the second day of competition as the Crimson opened wrestling at the 2021 MatMen Open hosted by the Illinois MatMen on Wednesday at NOW Arena.
 
Competing on the first of two days at the event which features 10 top-25 teams, Conigliaro won twice in the championship bracket to proceed to day two's semifinals while first-year Diego Sotelo, senior Lukus Stricker, senior A.J. Jaffe, junior Mike Doggett, sophomore Joshua Kim, and sophomore Leo Tarantino all remained in contention with a combination of victories on day one.
 
Conigliaro has earned himself place-winner status at the tournament following his 2-0 day. Sotelo, Stricker, and Doggett each tallied three wins at 125, 141, and 174 pounds respectively. 

Harvard Highlights

• Sophomore Philip Conigliaro won twice at 165 pounds to advance to the semifinals. He topped Purdue's Stoney Buell in the round of 16, 6-1, and beat Northern Illinois' Izzak Olejnik in the quarterfinals, 6-3. Conigliaro will meet Pittsburgh's Jake Wentzel in the semifinals. Conigliaro will place for the third time this season after winning his weight class at the Keystone Classic and placing sixth at the Cliff Keen Invitational. When Conigliaro last competed in the state of Illinois at the 2019 Midlands Championships, he placed fifth at 165.
• First-year Diego Sotelo notched a 3-1 record at 125 pounds to move to day two. He defeated Michigan's Christian Tanefeu in the round of 32 with a 16-0 technical fall. After dropping a decision in sudden victory in the round of 16, Sotelo answered with back-to-back wins in the consolation bracket. He bested Dane Durlacher (Illinois) with a fall in 2:38 and Colton Camacho (Pittsburgh) with a 9-6 decision. He will meet Lehigh's Sheldon Seymour to open competition on Thursday.
• Senior Lukus Stricker went 3-1 at 141 pounds to continue competition. He opened wrestling with a 5-0 win over Trey Kruse of Purdue. After a setback in the round of 16, he responded with wins over Penn's Vince Mannella (6-0) and Northern Iowa's Adam Allard (4-0) in the wrestlebacks. Stricker will face Anthony Cheloni of Northern Illinois to start day two action.
• Junior Mike Doggett tallied a 3-1 mark at 174 pounds to reach day two. He began with an 11-2 major decision over Matt McKenna of Michigan. Following a setback in the round of 16, he used victories over DJ Shannon of Illinois (forfeit) and Noah Fox of F&M (4-1) to remain in contention. He will face Nick Incontrera to start Thursday's wrestling.
• Senior A.J. Jaffe registered a pair of wins in consolation competition at 157 pounds to move to day two. He topped Evan Yant of Northern Iowa, 10-4, and Chase McCollum of Franklin and Marshall, 8-1. He will open Thursday wrestling vs. Cal Poly's Brawley Lamer.
• At 174 pounds, sophomore Joshua Kim topped F&M's John Crawford, 6-3, in the round of 16, before dropping a decision in the quarterfinals. He will take on Jackson Turley of Rutgers to open consolation competition on Thursday.
• Sophomore Leo Tarantino bested Lehigh's Jack Wilt, 5-3, in consolation wrestling at 184 pounds to advance to Thursday. He will begin day two vs. Pittsburgh's Gregg Harvey.
• Also for Harvard, first-year Kenny Hermann won twice at 141 pounds, sophomore Nick Marcenelle earned two wins at 197 pounds, and first-year Cael Berg notched one win at 157 pounds.
• As a team, Harvard posted 20 wins including four bonus-point wins – two major decisions, a technical fall, and a fall. The Crimson's seven wrestlers to advance to day two posted a 15-6 overall record.
• In the team standings, Harvard ranks in a tie for 11^th with 17.0 points. Wisconsin paces the team standings with a score of 66.

Harvard Results

125 Pounds
Beau Bayless (0-2)
Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) def. Bayless in Round of 16, Dec. 3-2
Kyle Gollhofer (Northern Iowa) def. Bayless in Consolation, Dec. 3-2
 
Diego Sotelo
Day One (3-1)
Sotelo def. Christian Tanefeu (Michigan) in Round of 32, TF 16-0 5:21
Gage Curry (Pittsburgh) def. Sotelo in Round of 16, Dec. 5-4 SV1
Sotelo def. Dane Durlacher (Illinois) in Consolation, Fall 2:38
Sotelo def. Colton Camacho (Pittsburgh) in Consolation, Dec. 9-6
Day Two
Vs. Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) in Consolation
 
133 Pounds
Dillon Murphy (0-2)
Dylan Chappell (Bucknell) def. Murphy in Round of 32, Dec. 10-3
Jack Wagner (Northern Iowa) def. Murphy in Consolation, Dec. 8-2
 
141 Pounds
Kenny Herrmann (2-2)
Herrmann def. We Rachal (Illinois) in Round of 32, Dec. 7-5 SV1
Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) def. Herrmann in Round of 16, Fall 1:35
Herrmann def. Dillon Nichols (Northern Illinois) in Consolation, Dec. 9-3
Jaivon Jones (Northern Illinois) def. Herrmann in Consolation, Dec. 5-3
 
149 Pounds
Evan Gleason (0-2)
Adam Allard (Northern Iowa) def. Gleason in Round of 32, Dec. 6-1
Ricky Cabanillas (Brown) def. Gleason in Consolation, Dec. 7-3
 
Lukus Stricker
Day One (3-1)
Stricker def. Trey Kruse (Purdue) in Round of 32, Dec. 5-0
Anthony White (Rutgers) def. Stricker in Round of 16, Dec. 4-0
Stricker def. Vince Mannella (Penn) in Consolation, Dec. 6-0
Stricker def. Adam Allard (Northern Iowa) in Consolation, Dec. 4-0
Day Two
Vs. Anthony Cheloni (Northern Illinois) in Consolation
 
157 Pounds
Cael Berg (1-2)
Berg def. Jake Reicin (Illinois) in Round of 32, Dec. 9-2
Kendall Coleman (Purdue) def. Berg in Round of 16, MD 16-5
Chase McCollum (Franklin & Marshall) def. Berg in Consolation, Dec. 3-1
 
A.J. Jaffe
Day One (2-1)
Grant Zamin (Unattached) def. Jaffe in Round of 16, Dec. 6-5
Jaffe def. Evan Yant (Northern Iowa) in Consolation, Dec. 10-4
Jaffe def. Chase McCollum (Franklin & Marshall) in Consolation, Dec. 8-1
Day Two
Vs. Brawley Lamer (Cal Poly) in Consolation
 
165 Pounds
Philip Conigliaro
Day One (2-0)
Conigliaro def. Stoney Buell (Purdue) in Round of 16, Dec. 6-1
Conigliaro def. Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois) in Quarterfinals, Dec. 6-3
Day Two
Vs. Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) in Semifinals
 
174 Pounds
Mike Doggett
Day One (3-1)
Doggett def. Matt McKenna (Michigan) in Round of 32, MD 11-2
Gerrit Nijenhuis (Purdue) def. Doggett in Round of 16, TF 16-1 6:56
Doggett def. DJ Shannon (Illinois) in Consolation, Forfeit
Doggett def. Noah Fox (Franklin & Marshall) in Consolation, Dec. 4-1
Day Two
Vs. Nick Incontrera (Penn) in Consolation
 
Joshua Kim
Day One (1-1)
Kim def. John Crawford (Franklin & Marshall) in Round of 16, Dec. 6-3
Mason Kauffman (Northern Illinois) def. Kim in Quarterfinals, Dec. 6-3
Day Two
Vs. Jackson Turley (Rutgers) in Consolation
 
184 Pounds
Leo Tarantino
Day One (1-1)
Zach Braunagel (Illinois) def. Tarantino in Round of 16, Fall 2:59
Tarantino def. Jack Wilt (Lehigh) in Consolation, Dec. 5-3
Day Two
Vs. Gregg Harvey (Pittsburgh) in Consolation
 
197 Pounds
Nick Marcenelle (2-2)
Marcenelle def. Colin Jagielski (Northern Illinois) in Round of 32, MD 10-2
Nico Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) def. Marcenelle in Round of 16, TF 16-1 3:46
Marcenelle def. Mike Waszen (Franklin & Marshall) in Consolation, Dec. 5-0
Kolby Franklin (Unattached) def. Marcenelle in Consolation, Dec. 6-1

Next Up

Harvard concludes competition at the MatMen tomorrow – Thursday, Dec. 30. Day two starts with semifinal, consolation, and seventh-place matches at 11:00 a.m. ET (10:00 a.m. CT). Wrestling concludes at 6:00 p.m. ET (5:00 p.m. CT) with first, third, and fifth-place matches.