Rivera Leads Terrier Wrestlers At Nittany Lion Open
December 5, 2004 | Men's Wrestling
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Boston University senior wrestler Joey Rivera (Stroudsburg, Pa.) led four Terrier place winners, finishing third at 141 at the 2004 Nittany Lion Open on Sunday, Dec. 5.
It was Rivera’s third top-three finish in the Terriers’ first three events this season. He won at the Empire Open on Nov. 14 and finished second at the Keystone Classic on Nov. 20. He improved his individual record to 14-1 this season.
Rivera was joined by senior Courtney Howard (Sitka, Alaska), who finished fourth at 285, and senior Rayes Gonzales (Las Vegas, Nev.) and junior Zach Johns (Owings Mills, Md.), both of whom wrestled to seventh-place finishes at 149 and 165, respectively.
Rivera advanced to the championship semifinal at 141 with three wins (one by technical fall) before falling to eventual champion DeWitt Driscoll of host Penn State. He then won both of his consolation matches to claim the third-place spot.
Howard won his opening match at 285, then fell into the consolation bracket, where he went on to earn five straight wins, including a technical fall and a pin, to advance to the third-place match against Navy’s Tanner Garrett. Garrett defeated Howard, 3-1, to claim the third-place trophy.
Both Gonzales and Johns won their seventh-place matches. Gonzalespinned Penn’s Steve Swentzel in 2:53, while Johns earned a 6-2 decision over Lock Haven’s Rory McCoy.
Sophomore Anthony Turili (North Kingston, R.I.) made his collegiate debut, earning his first career victory in the consolation bracket at 149 - a 14-2 win over Millersville’s Steve Miscwicz. Freshman David Swofford (Allison, Pa.) also earned his first career wins, going 2-2 at 141 in his second career outing.
Host Penn State crowned three championships. The Terriers were not represented at 174, 184, or 197.
B.U. competes in its first dual match of the season when it hosts Colonial Athletic Association foe Hofstra University on Saturday, Dec. 11 at 4 p.m.
