The event was a qualifying meet for the national tournament to be held in Dallas, Texas, on March 11 and 12. To earn an invitation to the lone-star state, wrestlers needed to place in the top six of their respective weight classes.

As a team, Rensselaer tallied 50 points and came in seventh in the sixteen team field. RPI also watched six of its own meet the requirements for the national meet despite only having one semester of training.

“For such a short season, we’ve come a long way,” boasted head coach John Jenkins, Jr. “If you think about it, we’ve only been wrestling for about a month.”

Senior co-captain Kurt Munz, sophomore co-captain Rob Venditti, fellow sophomores Eric Pace and Sam Weinburg, and freshmen Matt Gineo and Alex Wruck will represent RPI in Dallas later this month.

Munz placed fourth in the 141 pound class, falling to the eventual champion in the semi-final and to a 2004 All-American in the consolation final.

Venditti overcame both knee pain and a brutal cold to finish fourth in the 157 pound group. “Rob is one of the hardest working guys on this team,” praised fellow captain Munz.

Pace, who was recently selected as one of next year’s captains by his teammates, celebrated with a third-place finish in the 184 pound class.

Weinburg tackled the 235 pound bracket and came out with a qualifying finish of fourth place.

Gineo came in sixth in the 141 pound class, two spots behind teammate Munz.

Wruck enjoyed the fastest pin of his season in a time of 1:44 en route to a sixth place finish in the 174 pound category.

The triumphant six will now set their sights on the nationwide event.