It was a good day to be light on the Penn wrestling team.
At yesterday's Keystone Classic at the Palestra, the Quakers captured individual titles at the three lowest weightclasses -- including two co-champions at 133 pounds -- en route to the tournament championship.
It was the Quakers' first team title at their home event since the 2002 tournament.
For senior Matt Valenti at 133 pounds, it was his second career title at the Keystone Classic -- he also won the 2003 edition. But this time he had to share his title with a teammate.
Valenti and junior Matt Eveleth both advanced to the finals of the weightclass and did not wrestle each other, giving them the shared title.
At 141, the Quakers were faced with the same situation, but top seed Cesar Grajeles and No. 7 Brett McCurdy did face off in the finals, and Grajeles turned a close match into a 6-3 victory in the third period.
And McCurdy's road to the finals was far from uneventful.
The freshman from Lansdale, Pa., defeated No. 2 Mark Savino of Brown with a quick pin before beating Antwone Floyd of Duke to reach the final.
At the lowest weightclass -- 125 pounds -- the Quakers continued their dominance at the lighter end of the spectrum.
Sophomore Andrew Gold used a riding time point in the third period to defeat Anthony Burke of Virginia in the finals.
It should come as no surprise that the Quakers have had plenty of early success in the lower weightclasses under new coach Zeke Jones -- himself a former light wrestler.
The four victories were almost turned into even more for the Quakers yesterday, as Penn wrestlers took second place at four additional weightclasses.
Senior Paul Velekei dropped a 2-0 decision to TJ Morrison of Rider at 197 pounds.
Fellow captain Dustin Wiles was also on the verge of a title, but he was pinned in the final by American's Josh Glenn -- the top seed.
Sophomore Lior Zamir finished second in the 174-pound weightclass, also falling to the top seed, while Penn's Gene Zannetti dropped a 10-9 match to Scott Ervin of Appalachian State.
On the day, the Quakers finished first by a wide margin with 151 points.
Second place went to Virginia with 109.5 points, while American was third with 100.5 points.
The only other Ivy League team to make the trip to Philadelphia was Brown, which finished seventh in the 10-team field.
The next time the Quakers take to the mats, it will be far from the comfort of the Palestra at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas, Nev.
Keystone Champions - 125: Andrew Gold, PENN - 133: Matt Eveleth and Matt Valenti, PENN** - 141: Ceasar Grajales, PENN - 149: Tom Kniezewski, American - 157: Scott Ervin, Appalachian St. - 165: Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov, American - 174: Doug Umbehauer, Rider - 184: Josh Glenn, American - 197: T.J. Morrison, Rider - 285: Adam LoPiccolo, American **Eveleth and Valenti advanced to the finals and did not wrestle
