GRANTHAM, PA (DECEMBER 2, 2023) -- A successful second day of the Messiah Petrofes Invitational for the King's College wrestling team on Saturday afternoon. The Monarchs witnessed five members get podium finishes at Hitchcock Arena. Shane Kibler (149) and Richard Fronheiser (197) earned third place in their respective weight classes. King's finished eighth of 13 scoring teams with only 14 members.
 
Hugh Bittenbender – 141
Bittenbender placed eighth in the two-day invitational. The sophomore lost in a 12-3 major decision against Muhlenberg's Andrew Loniewski. Bittenbender dropped his seventh-place match to Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) opponent Garret Gehr of Alvernia in a 12-8 decision.
 
Shane Kibler – 149
Kibler had a tough matchup against Quinn Tobin over Alvernia, but the Monarch battled hard and pulled off the upset in a 5-3 decision win. In the semi-final, the sophomore pinned MAC opponent Noah Rice of Messiah in the second period with a time of 3:54. The final match of the afternoon, Kibler stood victorious as he took a 9-7 decision and placed third in the annual Messiah Petrofes Invitational.
 
MJ Turi – 149
Turi came out hot and won by pinfall against Southern Virgina's Elijah Blackwell in 3:56. In the semi-final of the consolation bracket, the first year suffered a loss by decision to Levi Snyder of Messiah 11-3. Turi came up short in his last match with a 10-6 decision against Noah Rice of Messiah. He placed sixth for the weekend.
 
Connor Wrobleski – 184
Wrobleski pinned Greensboro's Omori Lee in 1:40. The sophomore fell to Casey Allen of Springfield in a 14-7 decision. Wrobleski prevailed in his last match and won by pinfall over Averett's Nolan Gerwitz in 1:36 to take seventh.
 
Richard Fronheiser – 197
Fronheiser fought hard in the quarter-final of the consolation bracket and pulled off an upset over Deon Savage of Muhlenberg by pinfall in 4:06. The semi-final match was a nail biter for the Monarchs, but the junior celebrated a 9-8 decision against Messiah's Sawyer Dereszynski. Fronheiser extinguished Khalil Belk of Greensboro by a 10-7 decision to take third place.
 
King's will be back in action after finals for their first tri-meet of the season on Saturday, December 16^th to take on the Gothic Knights of New Jersey City and the Giants of Keystone. The tri-meet will begin at 10 a.m. in McGrane Gymnasium. The squad will close out the year at the Wilkes Open at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, December 22^nd before enjoying the holiday break.