F&M Wrestling vs. Drexel (Friday; 7:30 p.m.) / Messiah Open (Saturday, 10 a.m.)

Last Time out

• F&M wraps up EIWA and Independence Division action this Friday at home against Drexel after a pair of conference setbacks to LIU (L, 27-11) and Hofstra (L, 23-13) in New York this past Sunday
• Mason Leiphart (133 lbs.) and Bryce Kresho (141 lbs.) won both of their conference matchups over the weekend
• Kresho's win marked his 30th of the season, making him the 10th different wrestler in program history to achieve 30 wins in a single season
• The 30 win milestone has now been accomplished a total of 15 times between those wrestlers and includes a decorated list that features national champion Chris Black, along with All-Americans "Nip" Brown and Rick Durso
• RJ Moore (197 lbs.) also secured a bonus point victory against LIU in a match where four different F&M wrestlers were searching for a go-ahead takedown during the third period before the Sharks secured the winning points to swing the dual in their favor
• Against Hofstra, the Diplomats jumped out to a 10-0 lead as Jack Parker (125 lbs.), Leiphart, and Kresho won three straight for F&M to start the match. Kresho's win came by major decision to give him bonus points in both of the duals
• Hofstra tied the dual at 10-all before Nick Alvarez (174 lbs.) secured a come-from-behind 8-6 decision to give F&M a 13-10 advantage before the Pride won the final three bouts of the afternoon to claim the team victory

Drexel

Friday, February 7 (7:30 p.m.)

• EIWA & Independence Division Dual
• The EIWA and the EIWA Coaches Association announced a new, division-based, regular season dual meet schedule for the 2024-25 season
• Teams will be grouped into two divisions, competing against each other for Divisional Championships beginning this season, with a full divisional dual meet schedule starting in 2025-26
• Independence Division: Binghamton, Drexel, Franklin & Marshall, Hofstra, Long Island University, Morgan State, Sacred Heart
• Patriot Division: American, Army, Bucknell, Lehigh, Navy

F&M vs. Drexel History

• All-Time Series: Drexel leads; 18-3
• First matchup: Drexel won 26-18 (February 4, 1979)
• Most recent: F&M won 22-16 (February 17, 2024)
• Last 10: F&M 1-9
• Current streak: F&M +1
• Longest F&M winning streak: 1 (current)
• Largest F&M Margin of Victory: W, 29-11 (January 19, 1980)
• Smallest F&M Margin of Victory: W, 22-16 (February 17, 2024)
• Last Drexel win: W, 23-13 (January 14, 2024)

F&M vs. DREXEL

• When F&M defeated Drexel last season, it was the Diplomats' first victory against the Dragons since the 1987-88 season and snapped a 16-match skid against the Dragons
• Drexel enters the week with an 8-9 dual record this year, including a 3-1 record in EIWA duals
• The Dragons defeated Binghamton by a 23-10 score in the only common opponent between the two schools
• Drexel has also crossed over in EIWA duals and picked up wins against Patriot Division foes American (W, 32-6) and Bucknell (W, 20-13), while suffering its only conference loss to Navy (L, 29-9)
• Franklin & Marshall and Drexel have competed in two tournaments together this season as both teams wrestled at the Keystone Classic and the Sheridan Invitational
• F&M is 9-6 in head-to-head matches versus the Dragons this season
• The only potential rematch based on probable lineups would come at 141 lbs. where Bryce Kresho and Jordan Soriano previously met at the Keystone Classic, with Soriano earning a 13-8 victory
• F&M vs. Drexel Matchups during the 2024-25 season
• 133: Mason Leiphart TF John Hildebrandt; 6:15
• 141: Bryce Kresho maj. Deon Pleasant; 10-1
• 141: Jordan Soriano dec. Bryce Kresho; 13-8
• 141: Jordan Soriano dec. Aidan O'Shea; 9-8
• 141: Malachi Bordovsky WBF Brandt Fajerman; 7:00
• 141: Pat Phillips dec. Malachi Bordovsky; 10-3
• 141: Pat Phillips maj. Deon Pleasant; 14-1
• 149: Josh Hillard maj. Jonathan Fuller; 12-3
• 149: Josh Hillard dec. Jonathan Fuller; 7-6
• 149: Jonathan Fuller TF Brandon Sauter; 6:12 (18-0)
• 157: Luke Bender maj. Aboubakare Diaby; 11-0
• 157: Luke Nichter WBF Luke Bender; 2:08
• 157: Luke Bender dec. Jayden Iznaga; 5-1
• 157: Justin Soriano dec. Billy Templeton; 8-3
• 157: Jake Neill dec. Justin Soriano; 8-2
• 285: Tanner Updegraff dec. Brody Kline; 5-3

F&M at the Messiah Open

• Franklin & Marshall will be competing at the Messiah Open for the second consecutive season
• The Diplomats sent 17 wrestlers to this tournament a season ago and saw 10 of those individuals place among the tournament's top eight
• Aidan O'Shea is a returning champion at the event as he captured the 133 lb. title with four bonus point victories over his five matches
• Before stepping into the starting lineup full-time this season, Bryce Kresho finished second at this tournament a season ago
• Jack Parker and Josh Palmucci both earned third place finishes at the tournament last year and are currently starting for the Diplomats this season
• Nick Alvarez was a fifth-place finisher at last year's event
• Tyler Shea and Jake Allred both earned sixth place finishes
• Noah Bash took seventh at the 2024 Messiah Open
• Brandt Fajerman and Quincy Long also made it onto the podium with eighth place showings
• The Diplomats won a combined 45 matches between their entrants at the 2024 Messiah Open, with 35 of those victories ending in bonus points (16 pins, 10 technical falls, two major decisions, seven medical forfeits/defaults)

National Leaders

Bryce Kresho (141 lbs.)

• Kresho, a junior team captain, is currently leading all Division I wrestlers with 30 victories on the season
• The only other wrestler who has won at least 25 matches on the year is Army's Brady Colbert
• Kresho has also secured seven pins versus Division I competition to rank in a tie for 11th nationally in that category
• With major decisions against both LIU and Hofstra this past weekend, Kresho now has seven on the season which ranks him in a tie for third in all of Division I - just two behind the national leader

Assistant Coach Steve Borja

• 12th season at Franklin & Marshall
• Previously served as an assistant coach at Millersville University and Manheim Central High School
• Graduated from Virginia Tech in 2008 where he was a two-time first-team All-CC wrestler who was ranked as high as fourth in the country during the 2007 season

UP NEXT: vs. Millersville (Mayser Center)

Sunday, February 16 (2 p.m.)