Only three of the varsity wrestling team's ten entrants could advance beyond the first round in the 26th annual Wilkes Open Wrestling Tournament at Wilkes-Barre during the vacation, but these three combined to place the Crimson ninth among the 54 colleges represented.

The varsity placed second among the Ivy entrants, behind Cornell, which came in a strong second in the tournament, only two points behind winner Pitt. Cornell, last year's Ivy titlists, entered only four men in the tourney, but all four advanced to the finals, and three, Carmen Molino at 130, Dick Vincent at 157, and Steve Friedman at 177, won their divisions.

Captain Bob Foster, wrestling for the first time this season, took the highest honors for the varsity, as he placed fourth in the 167-pound class. After scoring easy wins in his preliminary rounds, Foster ran afoul of the tournament's outstanding performers, Dave Johnson, a Pitt standout. Johnson scored a quick first period takedown, but Foster just as quickly reversed, tying the score at two-all. Johnson however escaped and later added a reversal and riding time for a 6-4 win.

Foster Loses Consolation

In the consolation rounds, Foster scored another two wins, one a 12-9 slugfest over Michigan's Fitzgerald, but in the consolation finals he lost to Jim Ellis of Indiana, 6 to 1. Ellis last year won his weight class at the tournament and was named outstanding wrestler.

Joe Noble, wrestling at 157, won his first two matches, including a fall and a 1-0 decision over Yale's Bill Collins. However, in his quarterfinal match, Noble lost to Joe Seckler of Penn State, wrestling unattached, 7 to 5. When Seckler injured his knee, he was unable to continue in the meet, depriving Noble of a chance to enter the consolation rounds. To continue after a loss, the loser's opponent must advance into the semi-finals.

Freshman Sam Huntington provided one of the surprises of the meet, as he won his first match at 167, pinning Buffalo's Foster in 1:59. The luck of the draw pitted him against Pitt's National Collegiate Champion, John DeWitt, in the next round. DeWitt proved too experienced for the freshman, throwing him at 3:30.