WORCESTER, MASS. (November 23, 2019)  – Senior Thomas Poklikuha earned his 100th career victory with a first-period pin of Roger Williams University's Luke Bokina to lead No. 8 Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling to a pair of victories Saturday at the WPI Duals, hosted by Worcester Polytechnic Institute at the Sports & Recreation Center.

Sophomore Michael Dooley earned three wins and junior Brett Kaliner, senior Dylan Van Sickell, freshman Hunter Gutierrez and sophomores Robert Gennat and Akhil Vega each scored two for the Ducks, who began the day with a 26-23 setback to Castleton University, but ended it with convincing wins over Roger Williams (37-12) and WPI (33-12). Freshmen Kyle Slendorn, Frank Medina and Pasquale Vizzoni, joined senior Troy Stanich in winning one bout apiece to round out Stevens' victories. The eighth-ranked Ducks finished the day with an even 2-2 dual record.

"We have a young group of very talented men who need to gain the experience and accountability necessary to have success at the next level," said head coach Joe Favia. "Our stable of top talent cannot always carry the weight."

"The younger guys need to rise to the challenge ahead," Favia continued. "That's what they learned today. We will continue this learning process through to the postseason."

The Ducks began the quad dual by winning four of the 10 bouts with the Spartans. Freshman Kyle Slendorn earned his first collegiate victory with a pin of Nicholas Camacho in the second period to even the match score at six after Castleton scored a pin at 125 to open the dual. Senior Troy Stanich and junior Brett Kaliner scored consecutive first-period pins to extend Stevens' lead to 18-6 after four weight classes.

Cooper Fleming scored a technical fall over freshman Jonah Schechtman at 157 to begin Castleton's comeback. The Spartans then scored decision victories at 165 and 174 to trim the Ducks' lead to 18-17. Jason Hoffman pinned junior Bruce Parola at 184 to reclaim the lead for Castleton and Gennat dropped a close 4-2 decision to Mitchell LaFlam at 197 to secure the dual result for the Spartans. Dooley bumped up to 285 and scored his second career victory in the weight class with a commanding technical fall over Joseph Galusha to provide the final margin. Dooley was leading 16-0 at the time of the second-period stoppage.

The Ducks earned their first dual victory of the season by winning seven of the 10 bouts against Roger Williams, with each of the seven coming with bonus points. Vega kicked things off in a big way with a technical fall over Ben Dubois for his first victory of the season. Vega was winning 16-0 at the time of the stoppage. Gutierrez followed with his first win of the day with a first-period pin of Sean Weick for his fifth fall of the season.

Roger Williams got on the board with a decision win at 141, but Stevens quickly rebounded as Kaliner earned his second pin of the day, stopping Jack Wroble with eight seconds remaining in the opening period. The West Chester, Pennsylvania native has secured a pin in six of his seven victories.

Van Sickell followed with his fifth win of the year with a 9-0 major decision over tenth-ranked Tyler Gazaway to extend Stevens' lead to 21-3. The major was Van Sickell's first of the year. 

Poklikuha followed with his milestone victory at 165, before Brett Leonard kept Roger Williams alive with a 9-3 decision win over sophomore Nico Ziccardi. However, Gennat dashed any comeback hopes with his first major of the year, topping Eli Wilson via a 15-7 decision to secure the Ducks' first dual win of the year. 

Dooley secured the Ducks' final win of the dual with a pin of Travis Arata to give the Ducks a 37-6 advantage. Roger Williams' Addison Boisvert won via forfeit at 285 to provide the final margin. The 37 total points are the most against an NCAA opponent since the Ducks defeated McDaniel College 43-9 in a Centennial Conference dual on Jan. 21, 2017. The Ducks compiled 37 points against the Apprentice School last season at the Waynesburg Duals, however the Builders are a non-NCAA school, competing only in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association.

The Ducks closed out the day by winning seven bouts for the second consecutive dual in defeating the Engineers, with six of the seven coming with bonus points. The victory was Stevens' fourth straight dual win over WPI.

Vega opened the dual with a first-period pin of Christian Curll at 125. Gutierrez followed with a technical fall over Chris Cook with the first-year 133-pounder leading 17-2 at the time of the stoppage. Vizzoni picked up his first win of the event, and third of the season, with a first-period pin of Carter Lewis to push the Ducks' lead to 17-0 after three bouts. 

WPI got on the board at 149 as Ronan Ball pinned Joe Schneider, however, Van Sickell won by a 13-4 major decision over Chase Lind to reclaim a commanding 21-6 margin.

Poklikuha suffered his first defeat of the season in falling to Tyler Marsh via pin, however, the Ducks quickly recouped their 15-point lead when Medina pinned Brandon Marion in 31 seconds.

The Ducks secured the dual result when Gennat earned his second victory of the day with an exciting 3-2 decision over Mike Illic. Dooley completed his perfect afternoon with a 6-1 decision over Tyler Riggs to push Stevens' lead to 33-12. Neither side sent out a competitor at 285 and a 'no contest' was declared to provide the final result.

Additionally, Ziccardi and Medina each earned an exhibition victory to close out the competition.

Final Score: Castleton: 26, No. 8 Stevens: 23
125: Joseph Valentino (C) pinned Akhil Vega (S), 2:30; Castleton leading 6-0
133: Kyle Slendorn (S) pinned Nicholas Camacho (C), 4:09; Match is tied, 6-6
141: #5/#3 Troy Stanich (S) pinned Travis Brown (C), 1:40; Stevens leading 12-6
149: #1/#1 Brett Kaliner (S) pinned Max Tempel (C), 2:03; Stevens leading 18-6
157: Cooper Fleming (C) won by technical fall over Jonah Schechtman (S), 20-4 (6:00); Stevens leading 18-11
165: Michael Angers (C) won by decision over Stefan Major (S), 7-0; Stevens leading 18-14
174: Chance LaPier (C) won by decision over Frank Medina (S), 18-11; Stevens leading 18-17
184: Jason Hoffman (C) pinned Bruce Parola (S), 1:09; Castleton leading 23-18
197: Mitchell LaFlam (C) won by decision over Robert Gennat (S), 4-2; Castleton leading 26-18
285: #9 (at 197) Michael Dooley (S) won by technical fall over Joseph Galusha (C), 16-0 (4:19); Castleton wins 26-23

Final Score: No. 8 Stevens 37, Roger Williams: 12
125: Akhil Vega (S) won by technical fall over Ben Dubois (R), 16-0 (0:00); Stevens leading 5-0
133: Hunter Gutierrez (S) pinned Sean Weick (R), 1:30; Stevens leading 11-0
141: Connor Meytrott (R) won by decision over Trevor Mastorio (S), 4-2; Stevens leading 11-3
149: #1/#1 Brett Kaliner (S) pinned Jack Wroble (R), 2:52; Stevens leading 17-3
157: Dylan Van Sickell (S) won by major decision over #10/Tyler Gazaway (R), 9-0; Stevens leading 21-3
165: #8/#6 Thomas Poklikuha (S) pinned Luke Bokina (R), 2:52; Stevens leading 27-3
174: Brett Leonard (R) won by decision over Nico Ziccardi (S), 9-3; Stevens leading 27-6
184: Robert Gennat (S) won by major decision over Eli Wilson (R), 15-7; Stevens leading 31-6
197: #9 Michael Dooley (S) pinned Travis Arata (R), 5:00; Stevens leading 37-6
285: Addison Boisvert (R) won by forfeit; Stevens wins 37-12

Final Score: No. 8 Stevens: 33, WPI: 12
125: Akhil Vega (S) pinned Christian Curll (W), 2:07; Stevens leading 6-0
133: Hunter Gutierrez (S) won by technical fall over Chris Cook (W), 17-2 (7:00); Stevens leading 11-0
141: Pasquale Vizzoni (S) pinned Carter Lewis (W), 1:50; Stevens leading 17-0
149: Ronan Ball (W) pinned Joe Schneider (S), 1:19; Stevens leading 17-6
157: Dylan Van Sickell (S) won by major decision over Chase Lind (W), 13-4; Stevens leading 21-6
165: Tyler Marsh (W) pinned #8/#6 Thomas Poklikuha (S), 2:01; Stevens leading 21-12
174: Frank Medina (S) pinned Brandon Marion (W), 0:31; Stevens leading 27-12
184: Robert Gennat (S) won by decision over Mike Illic (W), 3-2; Stevens leading 30-12
197: #9 Michael Dooley (S) won by decision over Tyler Riggs (W), 6-1; Stevens leading 33-12
285: No Contest as neither side sent out a wrestler; Stevens wins 33-12

Exhibition Matches
125: Christian Chadwick (W) pinned Arjun Khatri (S), 3:20
174: Nico Ziccardi (S) won by technical fall over Declan Williams (W), 18-3 (5:59)
174: Frank Medina (S) won by technical fall over Declan Williams (W), 19-2 (3:41)

Up Next: No. 8 Wrestling heads to York, Pennsylvania for the annual two-day New Standard Corporation Invitational, hosted by York College. The Ducks have earned the OW Award in the prestigious event in each of the last three seasons.

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