ROCHESTER, N.Y. – RIT senior Josh Harkless won the 285 lb. division and first year Jackson Rush won the 133 lb. division to lead the Tigers to a second-place finish at the 59th RIT Invitational, Saturday.
 
Harkless, ranked third in Div. III, pinned Jake LeSage (Oneonta) 41 seconds into his opening match. He pinned Lukas Charles (Utica) 42 seconds into his second match and pinned Connor Reynolds (Williams) 52 seconds into his quarterfinal match. Harkless pinned Kenny Jackson 52 seconds into his semifinal bout and pinned Thomas Lunt (John Caroll) 39 seconds in the championship match.  
 
Rush pinned Xander Burke (St. John Fisher) 1:30 into his opening bout at 133 lb. He pinned Ricky Holmes (John Carroll) at 2:46 of his second match and pinned Ariel Waldman (Oneonta) at 3:59 of his quarterfinal match. Rush took down Matthew Carrozza (Trinity) with a 15-2 major decision in the semifinals and defeated Derek Bernardino (St. John Fisher) in the championship match.
 
Sophomore Josh Warland placed third at 157 lb. He pinned Colby D'Andria (Oneonta) 1:28 into his opening match. He pinned Ayden Estep (St. John Fisher) at 3:25 of his second match and beat Gannon White (Norwich) with an 8-5 decision. Warland defeated Ronnie Christolin (Wesleyan) 3-1 before a 3-0 loss to Peter Kane (Williams) in the quarterfinals. He was a 4-1 winner over Andrew Pratt (Trinity) in the consolation round before a no-contest win in the third-place match.
 
Sophomores Max Watson (149 lb.) and Jack Lamson (174 lb.) and first year Zach Gerby (157 lb.) each placed fourth. Junior Nick Smith placed fifth at 184 lb. and junior Isaiah Shafer (141 lb.) and senior Mason Grodzki (165 lb.) each placed sixth.
 
 
RIT returns to action on Saturday (Jan. 3) against Oswego and Nassau County Community College.