YORK, Pa. (December 6, 2019)  – Seven student-athletes advanced to the quarterfinals and an additional five remain alive in the consolation bracket to lead No. 22 Stevens Institute of Technology Wrestling to third place Friday, after the first day of competition at the New Standard Corporation Invitational, hosted by York College (Pa.).

Junior Brett Kaliner, seniors Dylan Van Sickell, Thomas Poklikuha and Troy Stanich, along with freshmen Hunter Gutierrez and Kyle Slendorn and sophomore Michael Dooley advanced to the round of eight. 

Junior Bruce Parola and freshmen Frank Medina, Stefan Major, Trevor Mastorio and Pasquale Vizzoni remain alive on the consolation side as 12 of Stevens' 19 competitors advanced through to the second day of competition.

As a team, the Ducks accumulated 34 points to finish Friday's matches third out of 15 teams. No. 11 The College of New Jersey sits atop the field with 47 points, with No. 5 Johnson & Wales University holding second with 43. Roger Williams University (29) and the hosting Spartans (28.5) round out the top-five.

"We pushed 12 of the 19 through to Day Two, with seven of them on the championship side of the bracket," said head coach Joe Favia. "It was a good start to the tournament for them."

"At this point, we are focused on tomorrow," Favia continued. "There a lot of great matchups, and it will be fun to watch our seven push for titles, with the other five striving for the next best thing, a bronze medal."

Slendorn began his tournament with a third-period pin of Averett's Easton Hallady. Slendorn scored three takedowns and an escape to build a 7-0 lead at the time of the fall. The Howell, New Jersey native scored his second pin of the tournament, stopping Johnson & Wales' Nick DeSola in the second period. Slendorn used a four-point near-fall to build an 8-0 lead before the pin. He will take on Ithaca's tenth-ranked Travis Jones in the quarterfinals with a bout with No. 4 Kordell Rush in the semis.

On the other side of the bracket, Gutierrez defeated Luis Herandez, securing a 15-0 technical fall after riding time was taken into consideration. Gutierrez scored a pair of four-point near-falls in both the first and second periods to build his advantage. The tech fall was Gutierrez's third of the season. He advanced to the quarterfinals by pinning Elizabethtown's Josh McLaughlin in the second period. Gutierrez draws TCNJ's Jacob Falleni in his first bout Saturday. No. 6 Jake Giordano (TCNJ) looms in the semifinals.

Stanich put on a commanding performance in winning his two matches, outscoring his opponents 34-4 in winning a pair of technical falls. The Roxbury, New Jersey native opened his tournament with a 16-1 victory against Merchant Marine Academy's Austin Vincent in the opening period. Stanich scored a pair of takedowns and scored six, two-point near-falls. Stanich advanced to the quarters with an 18-3 win over Ithaca's Brecan Saul, building a 15-1 advantage over the first two periods. Stanich scored an escape and a takedown over the first 34 seconds of the final stanza to earn the early stoppage. Stanich, the third-ranked wrestler in Division III at 141, draws York's Blake Shalbert Saturday 

Kaliner continued the impressive start to his third season on Castle Point, scoring a pair of falls en route to the round of eight. Both pins occurred in less than 80 seconds. The West Chester, Pennsylvania native pinned Apprentice School's Thomas Allison in 52 seconds in his first match of the day and then pinned York's Timmy Sparks in 75 seconds to reach the quarterfinals, where he will meet Brockport's Austin Reed. Of Kaliner's nine wins, eight have been via fall. No. 3 Da'Mani Burns (Johnson & Wales) remains alive on the other side of the championship bracket.

Van Sickell also scored a pair of pins to reach the quarters, stopping Cortland's Carter Baron in the opening round and Brockport's Reese Lockwood in the round of 16. Both pins took place within the first 90 seconds of each match. Like Kaliner, Van Sickell did not allow a point over his first two matches. The pins were the Little Silver, New Jersey native's fourth and fifth of the season. Van Sickell draws Alfred Corradetti in the quarters.

Fresh off winning his 100th career bout, Poklikuha matched Stanich with a pair of technical falls en route to the quarterfinals, allowing just one point to his opponents over a pair of second-period victories. Poklikhua began his tournament with a 16-1 victory over Cortland's Alex Leone, building a 10-1 lead in the opening period. He added a reversal and a four-point near-fall to earn the stoppage. He was equally as impressive over his second match, blanking Averett's Isiah Deck 12-0 after the first period. Poklikuha draws Elizabethtown's Brian Schneider in the quarterfinals. 

Dooley, the only nationally-ranked wrestler at 197 in the field, reached the round of eight with a major decision and a pin in his two matches. Dooley earned his first major of the year with an 11-2 first-round victory over Elizabethtown's Tyler Phenegar, scoring two points in the first period, five in the second and three in the third to build his lead, with the final margin coming after riding time was added. Dooley then earned his ninth win of the season with a 44-second pin of Averett's Gregory Gardner. Dooley draws Roger Williams' Travis Arata in the quarters.

At 141, both Vizzoni and Mastorio dropped their first match of the day only to respond with a victory in the consolation bracket. After a first-round bye, Vizzoni was on the wrong end of a 6-2 decision to Johnson & Wales' eighth-ranked Gabriel McDaniel, but scored a 12-1 major decision over Merchant Marine's Austin Vincent to remain in the hunt for bronze. He draws Elizabethtown's Colton Rex in his first match Saturday.

Mastorio fell to Roger Williams' Tristan Haviland via a 17-4 major decision to open the tournament, however, the Sayreville, New Jersey native advanced on the consolation side with a forfeit victory over Brockport's Austin Sargeant. Mastorio draws York's Jakob McGrath Saturday.

Major opened his weekend with a 12-4 major decision over Brockport's Nick Robbins at 157. Major built a 5-1 lead after the first period, before adding three points to his total in the second. Major outscored Robbins 4-2 in the final stanza to secure his third major of the year. The Fort Salonga, New York native dropped a 5-1 decision to TCNJ's Matt Sacco to fall to the consolation bracket, but Major quickly rebounded, by collecting his second major of the day with a 9-0 shutout of Merchant Marine's Nate Johnson. Major draws Cortland's Charlie Buckley Saturday.

Medina reached the round of eight in the 174-pound consolation bracket after defeating Brockport's Christopher Eames via a 10-4 decision. He draws Averett's Noah Wienclawski Saturday in his march towards bronze. Medina fell to the consolation side after dropping a spirited 6-5 decision to Merchant Marine's Max Sims in his opening match. Sims earned the victory after riding time was added, after evening the score with an escape with just 14 seconds remaining in the third period.

Parola rounds out Stevens' remaining competitors, facing Elizabethtown's Dayne Ross in the round of eight in the 184-pound consolation bracket.

Sophomores Akhil Vega (125), Nico Ziccardi (174) and Joe Schneider (149), along with freshmen Arjun Khatri (125), Nicholas Pepe (157) and Jonah Schechtman (149) each dropped a pair of matches in bowing out of the tournament. Pepe's two matches were the first of his collegiate career.

Freshman Carsten DiGiantomasso opened his tournament with a 4-1 decision over Apprentice's A.J. Duetel before dropping a pair of bouts to also fall out of the tournament. 

Up Next: No. 22 Wrestling take to the mats Saturday for the final day of the New Standard Corporation Invitational. The action gets underway at 9:30 a.m. Links for live stats and the video feed for the championship bouts are available on StevensDucks.com.

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