YORK (PA) – Vinny Fava and Zach Roseberry captured individual titles while four other wrestlers placed in their weight classes as Delaware Valley College took third out 13 teams at the New Standard Invitational held at York College.

The Aggies, ranked ninth in Division III, racked up 99 points and finished as high as they did despite having seven regulars out due to illness or injury. Two of the seven – Emmanuel Ajagbe and Dallas Winston – were NCAA qualifiers last year with Ajagbe earning All-America honors. No. 12 Johnson & Wales University took home the team crown with 119.5 points while seventh-ranked Ithaca College as next with 117.5 points.

Two who did wrestle and shine for Delaware Valley were Fava and Roseberry, who both entered the invitational ranked 10th in Division III at 149 pounds and heavyweight respectively. Fava, a transfer who was a two-year starter at Division I Rider University, ran his record to 9-0 on the season as he won a championship for the second straight tournament (he took top honors at the East Stroudsburg University Open back on November 17).

Fava opened the invitational by dropping Michael Henning (Elizabethtown) in 97 seconds and followed with a 21-6, technical fall victory over Billy Reardon (College of New Jersey). The top seed reached the finals after taking down Henry Stauber (Johns Hopkins) in 2:01 and needed just two minutes and 50 seconds to pin Matthew Vieira (US Coast Guard Academy) to take home the crown.

Roseberry, a freshman, followed his fifth-place showing at the East Stroudsburg Open (time constraints limited the consolation bracket to just a fifth-sixth placer match and not the usual chance at placing as high as third) with his first collegiate title and he ran his season mark to 9-1 along the way.

Roseberry began the day with a 6-4 decision over Shane Bartum (Ithaca) and moved to the semifinals after a 9-3 triumph over George Madosky (Johnson & Wales). He then pinned Cory Quintana (Brockport) with just 31 seconds left in the match (6:29) for a spot in the finals. Roseberry met Cole Tristram (Brockport) and posted a 5-4 victory for the championship.

Returning All-American and second-ranked Aaron Karns improved to 10-2 on the season and finished as the runner-up at 197 pounds. Karns, who took fifth at the East Stroudsburg Open, reached the finals thanks to a pin in one minute, 40 seconds over Sigala Fosam (College of New Jersey), an 8-1 decision over Evan Johnson (Johns Hopkins) and a 15-2 major decision over Matt Booth (Ithaca). In the finals, he met eighth-ranked Paul Glover of Brockport) and suffered a 7-5 setback.

Junior David Davidson, sophomore Pat Davis and freshman Sekou Harris were the remaining placewinners for Delaware Valley. Davidson took third at 141 pounds while Davis and Harris finished fifth at 133 and 141 pounds respectively.

Davidson dropped his opening match, but bounced back with five straight triumphs in the wrestlebacks including an 8-3 victory over Carson Brooks (Williams) in the consolation finals. He is now 9-3 on the season.

Davis won his opening bout before dropping a two-point decision to the eventual fourth-place finisher in his weight class. Four straight victories put him in the consolation semifinals where he fell by decision. However, he ended the tournament by pinning Shane Smith (Apprentice) with five seconds left to finish 6-2 at the tournament and improve his season record to 8-4.

Harris went 4-2 on the day and upped his record to 5-4 while placing for the first time on the collegiate level. After a loss in round one, Harris reached the consolation semifinals with a trio of wins. He dropped into the fifth-sixth place match but was victorious against Nicholas Gattinella (York).

Delaware Valley will have two weeks to prepare until it travels to Las Vegas, Nevada for the Desert Duals. The duals will feature for matches for the Aggies, including a meeting with the defending Division III champions and number one team in the country in Wartburg College.