ERIE, Pa. -- For a second straight season, Notre Dame jump-started its season with a tournament victory at the National Catholic Invitational. Five Falcon grapplers earned titles in the six-team invitational hosted by Gannon University (Pa.).  (Team Scores | Brackets)

NDC scored 139.5 team points to edge the host Golden Knights of Gannon, who tallied 127.5. The No. 2-ranked Falcons had eight wrestlers earn Top-3 finishes, while Gannon had seven. But in a close battle, it was Notre Dame's five weight-class victories (to Gannon's three) that proved to be the difference. The Falcons got wins at 141 (#Adam Koballa#), 149 (#Jeffrey Pelton#), 157 (#Thomas Straughn#), 174 (#Kurt Wolff#), and 197 (#Derek Foore#).

The victory reprises the tournament win Notre Dame had in Erie a year ago, when the Falcons won four weight divisions en route to a 30-point win. Jeffrey Pelton and Thomas Straughn have each gone 2-for-2 in the National Catholic Invitational - they both successfully defended titles earned in 2008.

Pelton went 4-0 on Saturday, earning a fall and a major along the way. The NAIA No. 3-ranked wrestler at 149 is now 36-2 in his collegiate career. The Bellevue, Ohio, native went 32-2 a year ago (2008-09) en route to earning All-American honors and third place at the NAIA National Championship Tournament.

Straughn, ranked No. 1 at 157 pounds in the NAIA Preseason Coaches' Poll, went 3-0 in Erie to get his season off to an unbeaten start.

Koballa, who is also top-ranked in his weight class, went a decisive 3-0 in a trio of bouts at 141. The defending national champ at 141 picked up a tech fall and a major before Duquesne's Tony Loscari, 9-3, in the final.

Kurt Wolff went 3-0 with a pin in his title run at 174. Derek Foore went 3-0 in his win at 197; he garnered a major and an impressive pin that was earned in just 24 seconds.

Another impressive performance was turned in by Ashtin Primus. The NDC newcomer placed third at 149, going 5-1 with five falls.

The National Catholic Invitational marked the first of 14 events on the 2009-10 schedule for the Falcons, who will wrestle in five tournaments and eight dual events before closing out regular season competition at the NAIA Qualifying Tournament on Feb. 20. The event at the Carneval Athletic Pavilion in Erie, Pa., featured six teams and was hosted by Gannon University. The tournament featured teams from Gannon, Mercyhurst (Pa.), Duquesne (Pa.), John Carroll and Seton Hill (Pa.).

NDC will be back in action again on Saturday, Nov. 14, when they compete in the Harris Auto Center Open hosted by Ashland University.