VESTAL, N.Y. - The Binghamton wrestling team is heading home from the Princeton Open after an impressive showing from the freshman class. They finished with two place winners,  with Lou DePrez taking second at 184 pounds and Parker Kropman placing third at 149 pounds. The Bearcats finished 22-14 with 10 bonus point wins on the day.

"I'm extremely proud of this group of guys on their showing today," head coach Matt Dernlan said. "With the exception of Parker, this was the freshmen's first collegiate showing. I thought they did a great job executing the principles that we preach in practice everyday. They set the tempo for themselves and they really put up a fight out there. It's a really positive way to start their careers."

At 184 pounds, freshman Lou DePrez went 4-1 with two pins and two major decisions. Rolling through the bracket, DePrez faced No. 2 Miles Martin of Ohio State in the championship match. DePrez put up a good fight but Martin ultimately took a 12-3 major decision over the native of Hilton, N.Y. DePrez walked away with a second place finish in his first collegiate showing as a Bearcat.

"DePrez was in the match the whole time," Dernlan said. "Martin was able to control it more towards the end, but Lou put up a great fight against one of the best wrestlers in the country."

A redshirt freshman this season, Parker Kropman also went 4-1 on the day. Winning his first three matches, one by major decision, Kropman faced Alfred Bannister of Maryland in the semifinals. Losing by fall, the native of Rochester N.Y. moved into consolation to wrestle in the third place bout. Up against Rider's Gary Dinmore, Kropman dominated the match, earning himself five takedowns on his way to an 11-3 major decision over Dinmore and a deserved third place finish at 149 pounds.

Binghamton also had three other freshmen make semifinal rounds at the Open, finishing in the top six of their weight classes.

At 165 pounds, Aidan Monteverdi went 2-2 on the day with wins over Centenary University's Alec Donovan (Dec 7-3) and Ohio State's Ryan Ferro (Dec 5-3). In the semifinal match, the native of Whippany, N.J. faced Ohio State's Fritz Schierl, losing by decision 12-5 to drop into consolation where Maryland's Idris White took a 6-3 decision to end Monteverdi's run.

At 197 pounds, Joe Doyle also went 2-2, with a major decision over Rider's Mike Carfagno before pinning F&M's Jack Argast at 3:51 to advance to the semifinals. Princeton's Patrick Brucki earned a 16-5 major decision over Doyle to knock him into consolation. Going up against Lehigh's Kyle Gentile, Doyle put up good fight on the mat, but ultimately dropped the bout 4-2 to Gentile.

At 141 pounds, Dane Heberlein rolled through his first two matches of the day with bonus point wins. The native of Darien Center, N.Y. took a 16-0 tech fall to start his day over Russell Feye of Sacred Heart, before pinning F&M's Haroldo Nesbeth 1:31 into the match. Heberlein then went up against Lehigh's Dan Moran, winning a close 5-4 decision to advance to semifinals. Lehigh's Ryan Pomrinca won the semifinal match 6-1 to knock Heberlein into consis, where the 141 pounder faced Lehigh's Jimmy Hoffman. Leaving it all on the mat, Heberlein lost in sudden victory to Hoffman (SV-1 5-3) to end his day at the Open.

Matt Swanson of Lynbrook, N.Y. also wrestled the day at 141 pounds, going 2-2 on the day with wins over Rider's Mark McCormick (Dec 3-1) and Princeton's Jordan Reich (Dec 9-4). At 149 pounds, Dylan Wood went 2-2 with wins over George Mason's Justin Yorkdale (Dec 7-3) and Lio Quezada (Maj 12-3). At 285 pounds, Jacob Peru also went 2-2 with a tiebreaker, 4-3 win over Rider's Ben Aquilina and a 10-9 decision over Eric Keosseian.

"It can be hard for the young guys to adjust at first," Dernlan said. "But one thing I can say is that we didn't get beat on talent today. There were times when we got out executed, but that's all part of the process. The guys put in outstanding effort and their performances on the mat showed it. It's a great positive thing to have in our pockets, but now we have to focus on this week. We have to go back to work and be ready for Sunday."