Lexington, VA - The Greensboro men's wrestling team competed at the annual Jim Crytzer Invitational at Washington & Lee University on Saturday, and Isaiah Manning (197lb) and Josh Wilson (141lb) took home first place finishes in the tournament. As a team, the Pride finished 5th overall.

Manning, a junior from Greensboro, earns his first tournament win with the Pride. Manning defeated Tucker Bellanca from Washington & Lee in the final round by Fall to earn the championship victory. Manning received two bye's before a forfeit win and then a Decision (10-9) win over Mohammed Fofana from Marymount College to advance to the championship match.

Manning said after the tournament, "I've worked so hard not only for my coaches, but for myself. As the new year started, coach Harty asked us what our goals are. I told him simply 'consistency.' Although this tournament was a step in the right direction, it's over. Now I look towards the next assessment. Then after that, the next one and so on and so forth. The scary thing is, I haven't arrived yet. All glory to God."

Josh Wilson took home his second tournament win of the season, and continues his streak of matches won since his only loss of the year in the season opening Ithaca Invitational championship round. Wilson, ranked #4 in NCAA in the 141lb class, won his first match of the day by Fall in just the second minute of the first round. He then won the next two matches by Tech Fall to reach the championship match against Sean Rinebolt of Shenandoah University. Wilson dominated the championship match and won by Tech Fall (21-6) to secure the 141lb title.

After the tournament, Wilson said, "Coming into the Jim Crytzer Invitational, I was prepared to face nationally ranked opponents from Stevens Institute, Northern Ohio, Roanoke College, and Baldwin Wallace. While they chose not to compete, I stayed focused. I trained like a madman for this tournament, and when the time came, I laced up my shoes and wrestled to the best of my ability against those who showed up. I'm grateful for the opportunity to step on the mat and compete, and I'm thankful to have come out on top."

Greensboro had strong performances from others as well, including Quadir Medley, who finished 6th place in the 149lb class. Medley had 5 wins on the day in a tough 149lb class. Luke Gregory also placed 6th in the 184lb class. Ethan Kring finished 4th place in the 165lb class after earning three wins on the day.

Head coach Justin Harty said of the team's performance, "The Greensboro College men's wrestling team had a fantastic outing at the Jim Crytzer Invitational at Washington & Lee University. We have really been working hard and we were able to translate some of that to the wrestling mat this weekend. For some of our wrestlers this was the best tournament they have had in their college careers. We placed five here at this tournament with Josh Wilson being the champion at 141 pounds, and is now a three time defending champion of this event. 

Quadir Medley had one of his best tournaments ever, placing sixth in one of the biggest brackets in the tournament. Ethan Kring also wrestled one of his better tournaments placing fourth. Then senior Luke Gregory in the 184 pound class continues to have a great year as he placed sixth. And at the 197 pound class Isaiah Manning wrestled a great semifinal match beating a top opponent to make it to the finals. He then beat a tough Washington & Lee opponent in the finals to become the champion at 197 pounds! Overall I'm very happy with the performance of the Pride here in Lexington! We still have some improvements to make, so now we head back to the wrestling lab at Greensboro College to keep working."

Greensboro will travel to Averett in their next ODAC match of the season on January 16th at 7:00 pm.