HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – Sophomore Philip Conigliaro placed second at 165 pounds, including a top-10 individual victory in the semifinals, to lead a group of three place-winners for Harvard University wrestling at the 2021 MatMen Open hosted by the Illinois MatMen on Thursday at NOW Arena.
 
Competing on the second and final day of action at an event that featured over 20 schools and 10 top-25 teams, Conigliaro – ranked No. 14 at 165 according to Intermat – topped No. 8 Jake Wentzel of Pittsburgh in the semifinals while senior Lukus Stricker finished sixth at 149 pounds and sophomore Joshua Kim came in eighth at 174 pounds.
 
Conigliaro placed at an event for the third time this season, while improving to 11-4 on the year behind a 3-1 record at the tournament. Stricker and Kim – ranked No. 29 at 174 – each placed for the first time this season, moving to 9-7 and 11-5 on the year respectively. Conigliaro and Kim are tied for the team lead with 11 wins apiece.

Harvard Highlights

• Sophomore Philip Conigliaro placed second at 165 pounds. Ranked No. 14 at 165, Conigliaro won in the round of 16 and quarterfinals on day one prior to beating No. 8 Jake Wentzel of Pittsburgh in the semifinals, 1-0. Conigliaro dropped the first-place match to Dean Hamiti of Wisconsin, finishing the event with a 3-1 record.
• Conigliaro placed at an event for the third time this season and reached the first-place match for the second time. Earlier this year, he won the 165-pound weight class at the Keystone Classic and came in sixth at the Cliff Keen Invitational. The last time he competed in the state of Illinois at the 2019 Midlands Championships he placed fifth. He improved his record to 11-4 on the year.
• Senior Lukus Stricker placed sixth at 149 pounds, winning two straight matches to open day two to put himself in a position to place. After posting a 3-1 record on day one, Stricker topped Anthony Cheloni of Northern Illinois, 4-2, and AJ DeSantis of Rutgers, 6-2, to open day two. He dropped narrow matches to opponents from Penn and Lehigh to close the day. Stricker moved his record on the year to 9-7 behind a 5-3 mark at the tournament.
• Sophomore Joshua Kim – ranked No. 29 at 174 – came in eighth place at the event behind a 2-3 mark. He moved into the placing matches with a forfeit victory over Rutgers' Jackson Turley before dropping a narrow 4-3 decision to Connor O'Neill of Rutgers in the consolation. Kim fell to Penn's Nick Incontrera in the seventh-place match via major decision, 8-0. Kim moved to 11-5 on the year and is tied for the team lead in victories.
• First-year Diego Sotelo (125), senior A.J. Jaffe (157), junior Mike Doggett (174), and sophomore Leo Tarantino (184) all competed for the Crimson on day two after advancing out of day one prior to dropping their first matches of the day to bow out of the tournament.
• As a team, Harvard totaled 25 wins at the tournament, including 20 victories on day one. The Crimson's three placers combined for a 10-7 record at the event.
• In the team standings, Harvard finished 11^th out of 21 schools with 44.0 points. Pittsburgh won the event with 121.5 points. 

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 (3-2)
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 (0-1)
Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) def. Sotelo in Consolation, Dec. 3-1 SV1
 
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 (5-3, Sixth Place)
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 (2-2)
Stricker def. Anthony Cheloni (Northern Illinois) in Consolation, Dec. 4-2
Stricker def. AJ DeSantis (Rutgers) in Consolation, Dec. 6-2
Anthony Artalona (Penn) def. Stricker in Consolation, Dec. 2-1
Max Brignola (Lehigh) def. Stricker in Fifth-Place Match, Dec. 8-5
 
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 (2-2)
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 (0-1)
Brawley Lamer (Cal Poly) def. Jaffe in Consolation, Dec. 3-0
 
165 Pounds
Philip Conigliaro (3-1, Second Place)
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 (1-1)
Conigliaro def. Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) in Semifinals, Dec. 1-0
Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) def. Conigliaro in First-Place Match, TF 21-6 7:00
 
174 Pounds
Mike Doggett (3-2)
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 (0-1)
Nick Incontrera (Penn) def. Doggett in Consolation, TF 16-0 3:31
 
Joshua Kim (2-3, Eighth Place)
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 (1-2)
Kim def. Jackson Turley (Rutgers) in Consolation, Forfeit
Connor O'Neill (Rutgers) def. Kim in Consolation, Dec. 4-3
Nick Incontrera (Penn) def. Kim in Seventh-Place Match, MD 8-0
 
184 Pounds
Leo Tarantino (1-2)
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 (0-1)
Gregg Harvey (Pittsburgh) def. Tarantino in Consolation, Dec. 10-4
 
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 opens the 2022 calendar year at the Franklin & Marshall Open (Jan. 7) before beginning its dual season with home matchups against Bucknell (Jan. 14) and Sacred Heart (Jan. 15).