YORK, Pa. (December 7, 2019)  – Senior Troy Stanich and junior Brett Kaliner captured individual titles at 141 and 149 pounds, respectively, to lead No. 22 Stevens Institute of Technology Wrestling to third place Saturday at the 11th annual New Standard Corporation Invitational, hosted by York (Pa.) College.

Senior Dylan Van Sickell (157) and sophomore Michael Dooley (197) each earned a second-place finish, as nine Ducks placed in the annual event. Freshman Kyle Slendorn took second at 133 pounds, while classmate Hunter Gutierrez, in the same weight, class placed third. Freshman Trevor Mastorio finished fifth at 141, while classmate Stefan Major took third at 157. Senior Thomas Poklikuha finished sixth at 165 to round out the place-winners.

As a team, the Ducks totaled 123 points to finish third out of 15 teams. No. 5 Johnson & Wales University won the team title with a total of 158 points. No. 11 TCNJ compiled 127 points to finish third, while Roger Williams University (88) and No. 12 Ithaca College (77.5) rounded out the top-five. Averett's Samuel Braswell was named Most Outstanding Wrestler after winning the 125-pound title.

After posting a pair of technical falls to reach the quarterfinals, Stanich scored his first pin of the day with a second-period pin of York's Blake Shalbert, scoring 11 unanswered points before earning the pin. The Roxbury, New Jersey native battled Johnson & Wales' Jordan Robinson in the semifinals and scored a takedown in the final minute of the third period to edge Robinson 4-2. In the championship bout, Stanich met Averett's Brandon Woody and came away with a 12-3 major decision, outscoring Woody 8-2 in the final period to secure the win.

After a pair of first-period pins on the opening day of competition, Kaliner collected wins via a technical fall, pin and major decision to collect the weight class' title. In the quarters, Kaliner and Brockport's Austin Reed had a spirited bout that saw the Ducks' two-time All-American walk away with a tech fall after securing a 23-7 lead after riding time was added on. Kaliner was leading 6-3 after two periods and the two combined for 20 points in the final period, with Kaliner scored five takedowns and three two-point near-falls. 

Kaliner scored his third fall of the meet with a second-period pin of Cortland's Lucas Pincus. Kaliner was leading 16-5 at the time of the pin. In the championship, Kaliner scored an 18-7 major decision over Roger Williams' Tyler Gazaway, who had upset No. 3 Da'Mani Burns in the other semifinal. Kaliner built a 6-1 lead in the first period and added seven points in the final stanza to break the bout open. The major was just his third non-fall victory of the season.

At 133, Slendorn opened his second day of competition with a pin of Ithaca's 10th-ranked Travis Jones in the first period. Slendorn scored a four-point near-fall before ultimately pinning Jones. The Howell, New Jersey native continued his momentum with a 17-4 major decision over Johnson & Wales' Freddy Eckles, outscoring his Eckles 11-1 over the final two periods to earn his first non-fall victory of the event. In the championship bout, Slendorn drew No. 6 Jake Giordano of TCNJ and fell via a 7-4 decision with a takedown in the second period and riding time proving to provide the ultimate margin of victory.

On the other half of the 133-pound bracket, Gutierrez dropped his first match of the day, falling via a 9-3 decision to TCNJ Jacob Falleni to dropl to the consolation side of the bracket. Gutierrez would go on to score four victories to secure the bronze medal. 

In his first bout in the consolation bracket, Gutierrez pinned Johnson & Wales' Nick DeSola in the first period, following a takedown in the final minute. Gutierrez then drew Apprentice's Kolin Johnson and the first-year grappler pitched a 12-0 shutout, scoring a pair of four-point near-falls in the opening period to claim the victory. Gutierrez met Eckles in the consi semis after Eckles' loss to Slendorn and Gutierrez ended the Johnson & Wales 133-pounder's day with a pin in the second minute.

In the third-place bout, Gutierrez met Jones and walked away with a 9-4 win over the ranked grappler, securing the victory with a takedown and an escape in the final minute.

Mastorio won three bouts to secure fifth place at 141. The Sayreville, New Jersey native pinned York's Jakub McGrath to begin his day and then edged TCNJ's Nic Mele 6-4 after a takedown in the final seconds. He advanced to the consolation semifinals with a 13-5 major decision over York's Verlensky Joachim, but Mastorio's run to third place came to an end via a 4-3 decision to Robinson, who had just fallen to Stanich. The 141-pounders were tied 1-1 after three periods and neither side secured a point in the sudden-victory period. After six extra sessions, Mastorio was unable to overcome Robinson's two-point reversal in the eighth period. Mastorio earned fifth place after a medical forfeit by JWU's Gabe McDaniel.

At 157, Van Sickell and Major finished second and third, respectively. Van Sickell defeated Ursinus' Alfred Corradetti via a 13-2 major decision to advance to the semifinals. The Little Silver, New Jersey native scored 10 straight points to create separation between the grapplers. Van Sickell reached the championship bout with a 10-6 decision over Cortland's Gianno Silba, but withdrew from the final via a medical forfeit.

Major secured his first third-place finish of his collegiate career after earning five victories Saturday. His march to bronze began with a pin of Cortland's Charlie Buckley and Major secured his second straight pin with a second-period stoppage of Corradetti. Major scored a 10-3 decision over TCNJ's Matt Sacco and completed his weekend with a major decision over Johnson & Wales' Darius Joyce in the third-place bout. Major built a 10-point lead over the first 5:09 to score the victory.

Poklikuha began his day with a technical fall over Elizabethtown's Brian Schneider, leading 18-2 at the time of the second-period stoppage. Poklikuha four straight two-point near-falls to close out the victory. 

In the semis, Poklikuha drew Ithaca's eighth-ranked Austin Wallace in a rematch of their dual on Nov. 15. When the ranked wrestlers met in November, it was Poklikuha that escaped with a hard-fought, four-point victory. However, this time, it was Wallace that scored a takedown in a sudden-victory period to earn the victory. Poklikhua forced the extra session with an escape in the final minute of regulation. The bout proved to be Poklikuha's final one of the day, as the West Creek, New Jersey native withdrew from his consolation semifinal match with Johnson & Wales' Christian Murphy via a medical forfeit.

Dooley continued his impressive 2019-20 season, scoring a pair of victories to reach the 197-pound championship bout. The second-year grappler opened with a technical fall over Roger Williams' Travis Arata, leading 19-4 at the time of the third-period stoppage. Dooley advanced to the finals with a second-period pin of TCNJ's Quinn Haddad. 

In the championship, Dooley suffered his first loss of the season, falling to Johnson & Wales' Tommy Wrzesien via a 6-5 decision. The pair were knotted after the opening period, with each side scoring an escape and a takedown. Wrzesien scored an escape in the second period, but Dooley answered in kind at the start of the third. With Dooley having secured a riding time point, Wrzesien shocked Dooley with a takedown with one second left in regulation to earn the 197-pound title. 

Freshman Frank Medina won his first match of the day with a 16-1 technical fall over Averett's Noah Wienclawski, building a 12-1 lead after the opening three minutes before the second-period stoppage after a two-point near-fall in the final minute. The Millington, New Jersey native drew Merchant Marine's William Sims in the next round, but dropped a 15-8 decision to fall out of the tournament. Sims built an early lead in the first period only for Medina to close to within 8-6 after a takedown, only to see Sims reverse the move to reclaim a four-point advantage.

Junior Bruce Parola won his first bout of the day with a 10-4 decision over Elizabethtown College's Dayne Ross, securing the final result with a pair of third-period takedowns. The Moscow, Pennsylvania native fell to Roger Williams' Anthony Malfitano via a 7-3 decision to bow out of the tournament.

Freshman Pasquale Vizzoni dropped his first match of the day to Elizabethtown's Colton Rex in the 141-pound bracket to fall from contention. 

Up Next: Following the Winter Break, No. 22 Wrestling heads to the midwest for a pair of events. The Ducks will take part in the prestigious Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, hosted by Northwestern University at the Sears Centre Dec. 29-30, which will be followed by the D3 National Challenge on Jan. 4, with duals against University of Chicago, No. 13 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and No. 6 Mount Union.

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