3 wrestlers charged with assault

Three members of the Penn wrestling team were arrested Nov. 16 in connection with an aggravated assault allegedly committed Oct. 3.

The three students — seniors Matt Dragon, Cesar Grajales and Roger “Rollie” Peterkin ­ — were each charged with four counts, including aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and other related offenses.

Although the incident took place in October, Dragon, Grajales and Peterkin were not arrested until last week because the District Attorney’s Office was still investigating the case, according to Division of Public Safety spokeswoman Stef Cella.

The three students posted bail Nov. 17 and are scheduled for a preliminary hearing today at 8 a.m.

The Athletic Department also announced the suspension of all three wrestlers Saturday on the eve of the Keystone Classic, the Quakers’ second event of the season. None of them competed in Penn’s first event, the Binghamton Open, Nov. 15. They are considered to be three of Penn’s best wrestlers, and all were ranked in the top 20 nationally in their respective weightclasses. The three have eight combined NCAA Tournament appearances in their careers.

Director of Athletic Communications Mike Mahoney had no comment on whether the arrests were the cause of the suspension.

“The University of Pennsylvania’s Division of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics has announced the indefinite suspension of wrestlers Matt Dragon, Cesar Grajales and Rollie Peterkin for a violation of University policy,” a statement said on Pennathletics.com Saturday evening.

Approximately 30 minutes later it was changed to exclude the word “indefinite” and cited a violation of “departmental policy,” not “University policy.”

The length of the suspensions were not given. Mahoney said that the Athletic Department does not plan on making any more announcements on the matter.

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