Shaffer Paces Wrestling at Wilkes Open

Wilkes Open Brackets

Tanner Shaffer recorded a fourth-place finish at 165 lbs. at the Wilkes Open on Wednesday to lead a group of six American University wrestlers at the event. The rest of the Eagles -- including AU’s four national-ranked wrestlers -- will be competing on Thursday and Friday at the 49th-annual Midlands Championships.

“We learned a lot from our wrestling today,” remarked Head Coach Teague Moore. “I’m pleased with the effort and feel that everyone came away with positions to improve on.”

Shaffer began his run with an 8-0 major decision over Maryland’s Aaron Norris before dropping a 6-5 decision to East Stroudsburg’s Thad Fick in the second round. Shaffer bounced back in the wrestlebacks with five consecutive victories before getting falling to Nassau’s Ryan Fox in the third-place bout.

Thomas Barreiro finished 4-2 on the day at 184 lbs., which included two major decisions in the wrestlebacks and a trip to the consolation semifinals. Phillip Barreiro, meanwhile, went 3-2 and also reached the consolation semifinals at 174 lbs. This included a fall against Gloucester’s Anthony Dawson in the wrestlebacks. Additionally, Sean McCarty and Mark Cirello posted four and two victories, respectively, at 165 lbs.  

Click here to view the complete Wilkes Open brackets.