GRANTHAM, PA – The Johns Hopkins wrestling team opened the 2021-22 season at the Messiah Invitational on Saturday and claimed a seventh-place finish in a field of 10 teams as the Blue Jays earned 72.5 points on the day.

Behaeghel Places Second at 285
Senior Hank Behaeghel was Hopkins' lone finalist on the day as he finished second at 285.  Behaeghel opened with a first period pin of McDaniel's Eric Ward (2:32), topped Carter Ulrich of Messiah, 9-4, in the quarterfinals and then won by disqualification in the semifinals against Liberty's Jefferey Allen.  Behaeghel lost by medical forfeit to Josiah Murphy of Liberty in the final to finish 3-1 on the day.

Paul Grabs Third at 174
Senior Joe Paul got his season off to a good start with a third-place finish at 174 as he went 5-1 on the day with four bonus-point victories to his credit.  Paul opened his day with a 16-5 major decision of Wheaton's Jacob Kraker, followed with an 18-0 technical fall of Washington & Lee's Thomas Lamb and moved into the semifinals with another major decision victory (17-4 vs. Messiah's John Sumner).  Paul was then bounced to the consolation bracket with a tight 3-1 loss to top-seeded Evan Lawrence of Wisconsin Eau-Claire before rebounding with two wins to claim his third-place finish.

Lorin Grabs Fourth-Place at 125
Junior Brent Lorin posted a 3-2 record to place fourth at 125.  Lorin advanced to the semifinals with wins over Gettysburg's Antonio Abate (18-5) and Liberty's Dante Minnino (5-2) before narrowly falling to eventual runner-up Anthon Zamora of Wheaton, 3-2.  In the consolation bracket, he added a 21-7 major decision of Wheaton's Brendan Johnston before falling to Washington & Lee's Riley Parker (7-3) in the consolation final.

Notes of Interest
Mike Massa placed fifth at 197 after responding to a loss in his first match by going 4-1 in the consolation bracket.  Included in his four wins on the day were two majors and a win by fall.  Jared Osborne placed sixth at 165 with a 3-3 record on the day.  Included in his effort was an impressive 4-1 win over Joe Salerno of Washington & Lee • Alex Tinana (141) picked up the first pin of the year for the Blue Jays with a first-period fall of Gettysburg's Anthony Cascio

What's Next
Johns Hopkins will return to action on Saturday, November 13 when the Blue Jays travel to Ursinus to participate in the Racich Rumble.