ANNAPOLIS, MD. – Behind three individual titles and six total placers, Campbell finished runner-up in the team standings of the 2019 Navy Classic Saturday.
Noah Gonser (133 pounds),
Josh Heil (141 pounds) and
Jere Heino (heavyweight) all claimed tournament championships at their weight classes, while
Quentin Perez (165 pounds) and
Andrew Morgan (184 pounds) both placed fourth.
Austin Murphy, meanwhile, placed sixth at 174.
Virginia Tech took the team title with 116 points, leading the way with seven placer to edge Campbell's 107 points. The Camels edged out Michigan State (99), Lock Haven (85) and Rutgers (83.5) in the top-5 of the 18-team field.
Gonser notched a pair of falls on the way to a 5-0 day and his second tournament championship of the year. The redshirt senior pinned The Citadel's Nathan Orosco in just 50 seconds to open the day, and clinched a spot in the finals by pinning Air Force's Jared Van Vleet (1:23). Gonser also took down No. 25 Casey Cobb of Navy 4-0, Zac Firestone of Rutgers 5-2 and Tim Rooney of Kent State 5-4 in the title match.
Heil also earned his second individual tournament championship of the season, going a perfect 4-0 on the day with wins over two ranked opponents. After earning a 4-2 decision over Edinboro's Carmine Ciotti, Heil advanced with a medical forfeit, defeating No. 18 Mitch Moore of Virginia Tech 5-3. In the title match, Heil tallied a 2-1 decision over No. 6 Kyle Shoop of Lock Haven.
Heino notched three bonus point wins, going 4-0 to take the heavyweight title. The redshirt senior started the day with a 13-5 major decision over Cleveland State's John Kelbly, then pinned Kent State's Spencer Berthold (2:55). A 10-1 major decision over No. 22 Kayne Hutchison of Air Force sent the heavyweight to the title bout, edging Virginia Tech's John Borst 3-2.
Perez won his first three bouts, all bonus point victories, before taking fourth. Morgan also started 3-0 before falling against two ranked opponents. After dropping his opening round matchup, Murphy won five straight to reach the fifth place match.
Next up for the Camels will be the Reno Tournament of Champions on December 15.
