1/26/25
 
JAMESTOWN, NY – Two wrestlers finished fifth in their respective weight classes, rounding out six competing wrestlers for the Falcons on Sunday morning and afternoon at the SUNY Jamestown Jayhawks Open, hosted by SUNY Jamestown CC.
 
There were over 200 grapplers from various schools across two and four-year institutions, as well as some unattached wrestlers from various clubs. It was Falcons standouts John Koroma (Woodbridge, VA) and Adan Salazar (Scranton, PA) that took home a pair of fifth-place finishes, while first-year wrestler Matt Gashi-Brito (Fairfax, VA) picked up a pair of wins, ultimately falling just short of a chance to place.
 
Koroma, a defending Region XIX champion who did not compete in the fall semester, stepped on the mat for the first time this season on Sunday, representing the Falcons at 174 lbs. His first bout was with Elmira College's Casey Cooper, who he dispatched with a 21-9 major decision. In the second round, Koroma's offense was non-existent, as he was blanked by a competitor from Ohio Wesleyan, 14-0, knocking Koroma down to the consolation bracket. He managed to rebound with a pair of victories, winning a major decision against his opponent from Brockport at 14-4, then taking a tight 12-10 victory in the next round against an opponent from PSU Behrend.
 
That pushed Koroma into position to potentially finish in third place. His opponent to get to the third-place match was DJ Slovick from Pitt Bradford, and Slovick made quick work, winning by fall at 43 seconds. Koroma didn't dwell on that loss and finished strong, beating Christian Hernandez from the hosts, SUNY Jamestown, by fall at 5:44 in an entertaining bout for fifth place.
 
At 197 lbs., Salazar didn't get off to a hot start, dropping to Enver Bulatov from Onondaga by fall at 3:21 to start his day. Adan would bounce back with a pair of wins, one by an 11-7 decision over his opponent from Mercyhurst, and the other a medical forfeit, which put him on the cusp of competing for third place. Salazar's opponent in the consy bracket for that chance was Brent Perry from Alfred State, and Perry managed to pin Salzar at 1:36 in the first round, sending Salazar to the fifth-place match against, coincidentally, Bulatov. Salzar earned the win this time around, as Bulatov was forced to bow out with an injury, giving Salzar the fifth-place finish on the medical forfeit.
 
At 141 lbs., Gashi-Brito really started strong, defeating Jamestown's Ryan Parton by major decision at 20-6. He'd drop his next bout by fall in 51 seconds to a wrestler from Gannon University, but Gashi-Brito rebounded in the consolation bracket, dispatching Richard Morales from Alfred State by a tight 11-10 decision. Gashi-Brito would face another Alfred State foe in the next round, Tyler Simons, and this time it was Alfred that got the best of Lackawanna, as Simons secured a 12-6 victory to deny Gashi-Brito a chance to advance.
 
In other weight classes, first-year wrestler Connor Ondek (Scranton, PA) won in his first appearance of the year at 157 lbs., defeating Everett Nichols from Garrett College by a fall at 4:01. Ondek would drop his second-round bout to Ryan Forrest from John Carroll by a technical fall (20-3), then fell in his consolation bracket match with Hollis Berry from Elmira, who pinned Ondek at 2:33 in their match.
 
At 125 lbs., national qualifier Edward Lauritsen (Brodheadsville, PA) dropped his pair of matches, losing an entertaining bout to Jake Stetz from Slippery Rock by fall just before the end of the third period, and then falling to his opponent from PSU Behrend by fall in the consolation bracket at 1:15.
 
In the 149 lbs. bracket, first-year grappler John Almonte (Scranton, PA) fell in his pair of matches, going down by fall in 29 seconds to Brooks Smith from Garrett in his opener, and then falling at 1:11 to Jared Dolder from Alfred State in the consolation bracket.
 
Lackawanna returns to action with a road dual next Monday, February 3^rd, when the Falcons travel to take on first-year program Northampton CC. The first matches will start at 6:00pm ET in Bethlehem, PA.
 
The full results involving the Falcons at today's Jamestown Jayhawks Open are below:
 
125
2^nd round: Jake Stetz (SRU) def. Edward Lauritsen (LC) by fall (6:57)
Consy 2^nd round: Hunter Williams (PSUB) def. Edward Lauritsen (LC) by fall (1:15)
 
141
1^st round: Matt Gashi-Brito (LC) def. Ryan Parton (JCC) by major decision (20-6)
2^nd round: Jacob Wright (Gannon) def. Matt Gashi-Brito (LC) by fall (0:51)
Consy 3^rd round: Matt Gashi-Brito (LC) def. Richard Morales (Alfred) by decision (11-10)
Consy 4^th round: Tyler Simons (Alfred) def. Matt Gashi-Brito (LC) by decision (12-6)
 
149
1^st round: Brooks Smith (Garrett) def. John Almonte (LC) by fall (0:29)
Consy 2^nd round: Jared Dolder (Alfred) def. John Almonte (LC) by fall (1:11)
 
157
1^st round: Connor Ondek (LC) def. Everett Nichols (Garrett) by fall (4:01)
2^nd round: Ryan Forrest (John Carroll) def. Connor Ondek (LC) by tech. fall (20-3)
Consy 2^nd round: Hollis Berry (Elmira) def. Connor Ondek (LC) by fall (2:33)
 
174
1^st round: John Koroma (LC) def. Casey Cooper (Elmira) by major decision (21-9)
2^nd round: Tyler Bodovetz (Ohio Wes.) def. John Koroma (LC) by major decision (14-0)
Consy 2^nd round: John Koroma (LC) def. Khol Kalfass (Brockport) by major decision (14-4)
Consy 3^rd round: John Koroma (LC) def. Matthew Melchior (PSUB) by decision (12-10)
Consy 4^th round: DJ Slovick (Pitt Brad) def. John Koroma (LC) by fall (0:43)
5^th place: John Koroma (LC) def. Christian Hernandez (JCC) by fall (5:44)
 
197
2^nd round: Enver Bulatov (Onondaga) def. Adan Salazar (LC) by fall (3:21)
Consy 2^nd round: Adan Salazar (LC) def. Jake LeClerc (Mercyhurst) by decision (11-7)
Consy 3^rd round: Adan Salazar (LC) def. Shane Davidson (Gannon) by MFF
Consy 4^th round: Brent Perry (Alfred) def. Adan Salazar (LC) by fall (1:36)
5^th place: Adan Salazar (LC) def. Enver Bulatov (Onondaga) by MMF