Though Senior Night for the wrestling team doesn't come until Feb. 19, it might as well have been Saturday's finals of the Keystone Classic.
While the team finished second at the event, which was held at the Palestra, seniors Matt Feast, Marcus Schontube, Rich Ferguson and Mason Lenhard pulled off impressive victories to win their respective weight classes.
Nine Red and Blue wrestlers advanced to the championship semifinal rounds, and 12 advanced to the consolation final rounds.
Helping these seniors was a partisan Quakers crowd.
While the crowd may not have been as large in size as those at a typical men's basketball game, it more than made up for lack of size in noise and enthusiasm. The few times when things got close for the Penn wrestlers, the home court advantage was certainly a factor.
"It was very nice," Ferguson said. "A lot of friends from my home were here. A lot of alumni, friends of the program were here. It's real nice to have this kind of a crowd."
Not one of these nail-biting moments was more poignant than Lenhard's victory in the 125 pound weight class. The comeback win epitomized his return to action, as the senior had a reversal in the final minute of competition.
Lenhard had been sidelined by injury for his sophomore and junior seasons, and was just last weekend making his return. He came back to win the championship bout, 8-7, in a hard-fought match against Rider's Ryan Smith.
"Mason Lenhard was out for two years," Schontube said. "He was great to come from behind. He showed a lot of heart in that final match."
The top-seeded Schontube at 197 pounds marked the night with his first tournament championship victory of the season, defeating Tim Harner of Rider, 10-4. Schontube had taken third place at the SUNY Brockport-Oklahoma Gold Classic last week.
Feast, in the 285 pound weight class, was his usual dominant self. He defeated his opponent in the championship bout, continuing his unbeaten streak this season.
The two-time NCAA All-American handed Appalachian State's Dave Hazell a 6-1 defeat. Feast had also won the heavyweight tournament title at the SUNY Brockport classic last week.
Rounding out the list of Penn tournament winners, Ferguson, at 165 pounds, provided a surprise victory for the Quakers, the first tournament title in his wrestling career at Penn. The Beach Haven, N.J., native handily defeated Joe Maroney of Rider, 8-3, on the center mat.
After battling for position in the championship round all morning, wrestlers from American, Appalachian State, Boston, Brown, Duke, Rider, VMI and Wagner emerged to the final standings.
Rider ended up winning the Keystone Classic with 141 points. The Quakers finished in second place for the second straight year with 105.5 points.
Top-seeded Penn senior Shawn Protz was upset by Rider's Tim Harner, 3-1, to finish second in the 133 pound weight class final. Penn sophomore Brock Wittmeyer took third place in the 157 pound competition, with a 15-4 decision over Justin Blumenthal of Boston University. Freshman Lior Zamir, seeded No. 5 in the 165 pound weight class, also exceeded expectations by winning the third place match.
The team celebrated the victories along with the home crowd, but also kept their composure, looking toward higher goals for the season.
"One of our main goals as a team this year was to be the fastest-improving team in the nation," Ferguson said. "I think everybody took a step in the right direction toward that goal today. We're definitely improving at a very fast rate. We showed that from comparing this weekend to last weekend."
In Brockport, N.Y., the Quakers only had one individual tournament title winner -- Feast. Four other Penn grapplers placed in the top three in their respective weight classes.
Next, the team will head out to Las Vegas, Nev., to compete in the Cliff Keen Invitational on Dec. 3 and 4.
