Grantham, Pa. - December 2, 2022 - The Springfield College wrestling team had a tremendous opening day at the 2022 Petrofes Invitational hosted by Messiah as the Pride is in second place among the 15 team field.

Fueled by eight student-athletes who advanced to the semifinal rounds of their respective weight classes, Springfield totaled 95 points and only trails Alvernia's first-place score of 119. 

Wrestling as the top seed at 125 pounds, Joey Manginelli (Dumont, N.J.) delivered a pair of wins by pinfall to reach the semifinals, while his brother Gianni Manginelli (Dumont, N.J.) punched his ticket to the semifinals following a tech fall and first-period pin at 133 pounds.  First-year Ryan Kozdra (Mahwah, N.J.) wrestled tough at 141 pounds, earning three victories including a technical fall, to earn a spot in the semifinals at 141 and top-seeded Chase Parrott (Stamford, Conn.) produced two major decisions on his way to advancing to the semis at 149. 

Jacob Deguire (Schenectady, N.Y.) had an explosive start to the weekend at 157 pounds with three first-period pinfalls, while at 197 pounds, Casey Allen (Park Ridge, N.J.) had a technical fall as part of his two wins as he will also wrestle in Saturday's semifinals.  At 285, Springfield will have two wrestlers in the semifinals, with Michael Filieri (Garfield, N.J.) notching two pins and Ben Katz (Medford, N.Y.) adding a pin and 1-0 decision of his own to remain unbeaten in the first day of competition. 

The Pride wrap up the two-day competition on Saturday, beginning at 9 am.

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