The Bruno squad opened the 2026-27 men’s wrestling season on strong footing at Sunday’s Princeton Open hosted by the Tigers, highlighted by a dominant five-pin performance by captain Max Norman ’29, who is ranked No. 35 according to WrestleStat.
The tournament served as an early measuring stick for Brown’s relatively new roster — 12 of 15 competing wrestlers were either first-years or sophomores. First-year No. 42 Nevin Mattessich ’30 was a standout, recording three technical falls in his collegiate debut.
With no official team standings at the Princeton Open, Bruno’s 15 men’s wrestlers combined for a 19-29 record. Norman led the team with a 5-1 performance, reaching the Round of 16 in the 174-pound weight class. In the consolation bracket, Norman reached the 5th-place match but recorded a no-contest loss.
Mattessich earned a victory in the Round of 32 in the winner’s bracket and finished 3-2 in the 184-pound category, and No. 75 Khimari Manns ’29 claimed the same 3-2 record in the 157-pound category.
Norman started his campaign in dominant fashion, pinning Binghamton’s Timur Beksultan at 1:51 into the first period.
But momentum shifted against Norman in the Round of 16, where he fell behind early to Army West Point’s No. 33 Gunner Filipowicz. Although Norman battled back to level the score at a tense 4-4 tie in the beginning of the second period, a decisive three-point takedown by Filipowicz handed Norman a defeat of 8-4 and sent him into the consolation bracket.
In his first consolation match against Rider’s No. 116 Liam Scrivanich, Norman found himself trailing by 6-2 early in the first period. Rallying back, Norman executed an escape, a takedown and four near-fall points to propel himself to a 10-6 lead, ultimately securing the pin at 5:50 into the match.
Catching fire, Norman continued his streak with three more pins against Hofstra’s No. 118 Matthew Waddell, Lehigh’s No. 95 Zeke Dubler — who he pinned within two minutes of the match’s opening — and Penn’s No. 85 Elliott Humphries.
Norman’s strong performance marked a distinct improvement from last year’s Princeton Open, where he went 2-2. Impressively, Norman’s five pins on Sunday nearly matched the Bears’ total of six at the 2025 tournament.
“We believe this was the first time in program history where someone has recorded five pins in one day,” Head Coach Jordan Leen wrote in an email to The Herald.
Mattessich also impressed in his Brown debut: All three of his wins came by technical fall.
After a commanding 18-3 win over Rider’s No. 100 JP Hangey, Mattessich was overwhelmed in an 11-2 defeat to Lehigh’s Rylan Rogers in the Round of 16.
Bouncing back, Mattessich recorded two 16-0 technical falls against Penn’s No. 104 Xander Kuokkanen and Franklin and Marshall’s No. 96 Brandon Carr in the consolation bracket. But Mattessich would eventually lose to Binghamton’s No. 102 Deakon Bailey in a narrow 3-0 defeat during the second Consolation of 8 round.
Manns also collected several wins. Despite an opening loss to Rider’s Kage Jones in the winner’s bracket, Manns opened his consolation rounds with a dominant 15-0 technical fall performance to defeat Princeton’s George Dennis.
Manns faced a slow start against Army West Point’s No. 123 Owen Hicks, falling to 0-3 in the first period after a takedown. But there was still time for Manns to take the lead. Despite a late push by Hicks, Manns held on to win the bout at a close 7-6.
In a later round, Manns lost 17-2 to No. 46 Joseph Antonio of Army West Point narrowly missing a chance to wrestle in the fifth-place match.
No. 225 Charlie Trujillo ’30 won multiple matches in the 133-pound class and registered a 2-2 record in the Round of 16. But in the quarterfinals, Trujillo was eclipsed by Army West Point’s No. 32 Jake Crapps. He recorded a consolation win before losing by decision to Penn’s No. 52 Spencer Barnhart in the Consolation of 4 round.
In spite of the mixed results, Leen noted he enjoys seeing the team “create a lot of action and bring fight to each match.”
The team’s “effort and attitude” allow the coaching staff to focus on the technical aspects of the sport, Leen wrote.
The wrestling team will return to the spotlight on Nov. 15, when they will take on Hofstra and West Virginia University in their home dual opener.
Leen wrote that the team will be “focusing on head-hands defense and using our fakes from (the) neutral” position. “After every time we practice or compete, we assess what was going well, what wasn’t going well, and what we are going to do about it.”
Contributing Writer
