Mount Everett's Cruz Takes First at Season-Opening Tourney

HOLYOKE, Mass. -- Mount Everett's Diego Cruz earned a pin in the title bout to take the 106-pound championship at the Knighthawk Classic on Saturday.

 

Cruz pinned Northampton's Leif Knechel in 26 seconds to pick up his fourth win at the tournament and lead the Eagles to a 12th-place team finish.

 

Cruz previously earned first-round pins over wrestlers from Taunton, Hampshire Charter East and Catholic Memorial to get to the final.

 

His Mount Everett teammate, Max Manning, reached the title bout at 132 before settling for a second place finish.

 

Manning started his day with a 15-12 decision over Taunton's Brian Haen.

 

He then pinned pinned opponents from Catholic Memorial and Northampton to get to the final.

 

Natick's Marco Mariano ended the 132 championship bout in 1 minute, 30 seconds.

 

Taunton won the team title with 305 points, well ahead of runner-up Westfield with 149 points. The Eagles finished with 61 points to finish 12th in a 19-team field.