Sophomore Parker excels for wrestling, placing sixth at Midlands Tournament

Despite aggravating his left knee after his sixth match, sophomore Greg Parker fought through two more, placing sixth at the Midlands Tournament in Evanston, Ill., Dec. 28 and 29.

A prestigious tournament, wrestlers are invited from all over the country, but the majority were top wrestlers from the Midwest. Four Princeton wrestlers competed: senior Ryan Bonfiglio, junior Juan Venturi and sophomores Parker and Joe Clarke. As the only Tiger to place, Parker had an excellent weekend, going 5-3.

At the tournament, Parker competed with wrestlers from top Big Ten wrestling programs such as Iowa, Minnesota and Ohio State.

"I was very happy with the competition," Parker said. "These are the top guys and I am happy to know that I can beat a lot of them."

Parker was annoyed with his knee injury, but he is optimistic about a quick recovery.

"I am upset that I will miss matches this weekend," he said, "but my knee is already feeling a lot better, and I will be back very soon. I am not surprised by the injury. The style of my wrestling is very prone to knee injury."

Bonfiglio, Clarke and Venturi did not wrestle as well as they had desired, in part because they had not practiced since Dec. 15 and they were facing possibly their best competition all season. Falling short early in the tournament was a problem for these wrestlers. The tournament starts as a seeded event, where the winners move along the winners bracket. After the wrestlers had moved far enough through the the tournament, they had the opportunity to place. During a very grueling two days for all the wrestlers, Parker showed extra toughness by beating many of the nation's top wrestlers while he was injured.

Elsewhere

Other Princeton wrestlers also competed during the break at the Wilkes Tournament, the Sunshine Tournament and the Aggie Tournament. All three events featured many of the top wrestlers from their regions.

Five freshmen — Brian Kirschbaum, Kenny Chu, Alan Sista, Matt Fisher and Matt Hawrilenko — attended the Wilkes Tournament in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., on Dec. 28 and 29. Kirschbaum placed seventh in the 125 lbs. division. Since the freshmen do not have many opportunities to wrestle, this tournament gave them needed experience.

On the same dates, seniors Scott Pasquini and Chris McLaughlin competed in the Sunshine Open in Miami. In his first competition since an early-season shoulder injury, Pasquini wrestled well and managed to protect his shoulder from further strain. He did not place, but he got some needed practice after the long time he had missed with the shoulder injury.

"Having Pasquini back will be great for this team," head coach Michael New said. "We have missed him and everyone is excited to have him back on the mat."

McLaughlin continued his strong wrestling, finishing fourth in the 197 lbs. division. McLaughlin has come on very strong during December and he is proving to be a leader and one of the best wrestlers on the team.

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In the last tournament of the break, Fisher attended the Aggie Open on Jan. 7. Wrestling in the 184 lbs. division, Fisher represented Princeton well by placing 4th in this highly competitive California tournament.

Coach New wanted to let everyone rest during the break, hoping to prevent injuries and keep all of the wrestlers energized during the season, which kicks into high gear in February.

"I was very happy with our success this weekend. To have a top finisher at every tournament we attended was just great. I am worried about Parker's knee, but he is a tough guy and he will bounce back quickly," New said.

The Tigers' next competition is N.C. State Duals tomorrow in Ral-eigh, N.C. Princeton starts its Ivy League slate Feb. 3, hosting Brown.