ALLENTOWN, Pa. (February 23, 2020)  – Sophomore Joe Schneider and freshman Arjun Khatri of the eighth-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling team each placed third in their respective weight classes Sunday at the Southeast/Mideast Futures Tournament, hosted by Muhlenberg College. 

"The Futures Tournament was a great event for five of our wrestlers to compete for the final time this season and hone their skills," said assistant wrestling coach Anthony Bonaventura. "They all competed hard and made the most of their opportunity in their final competition of the year."

"Happy for Joe Schneider and Arjun Khatri for finishing in third and being able to finish their season with wins." Bonaventura continued. "These five guys, and the rest of our roster, play a crucial role in our progression as a program and we appreciate their commitment to this program. They may not be representing us in the postseason, but, [they] will continue to play a huge part in our preparation as we get ready for Regionals and then the NCAA Championships."

Khatri won four matches at 125 to close his inaugural season on Castle Point with a 9-9 record. The South Brunswick, New Jersey native opened his tournament with a first-period pin of Hunter's Mohammed Chowdury before advancing to the semifinals with a 5-1 decision over TCNJ's Carmen Giumarello.

In the semifinals, Khatri dropped a spirited 10-7 decision to NYU's Jonathan Keltz. Keltz jumped out in front with a pair of takedowns in the opening period, before Khatri escaped to pull within 4-2. Each wrestler scored a pair of points in the second period and Keltz extended his lead with a takedown to open the final period, only to see Khatri quickly escape. Keltz scored his second takedown of the period only for Khatri to escape again. Stevens' 125-pounder earned a penalty point for Keltz's third stalling warning of the match to provide the final margin.

After falling to the consolation bracket, Khatri quickly rebounded from his setback to Keltz with a second-period pin of Hunter's Paul Wehr. Khatri was leading 7-1 at the time of the fall. He closed out his tournament with a 3-1 decision over Ursinus' Romeo Rodriguez, with all of Khatri's points coming in the second period.

One year after capturing the individual title at 149, Schneider won five bouts in the same weight class to place third. The 4-1 record improved the Newtown, Pennsylvania native's season record to 10-12.

Schneider opened the tournament with a dominating 17-0 technical fall over Wilkes' Chris Mann, with all 17 points coming within the first two minutes of the match. Schneider advanced to the quarterfinal round with a 7-3 decision over Washington & Lee's Will Medick. The sophomore scored a takedown and four-point nearfall to take a 6-0 lead after the first period. 

Schneider moved into the semifinals with a 3-1 decision over freshman Jonah Schechtman. Schechtman reached the quarters after a second-period pin of NYU's Jacob Bernstein. In the semis, fell via a 12-3 major decision to SUNY Cortland's Ryan Burgbacher. 

In the consolation bracket, Schneider pinned TCNJ's Thomas Dinger in the final period to advance to the third-place match. Schneider was ahead 16-5 in the third stanza at the time of the pin. He completed his tournament with a 9-2 decision over Gettysburg's Eric Mougalian after claiming a 6-0 lead after the first two periods.

After his loss to Schneider in the quarterfinal round, Schechtman began his run in the consolation bracket with a third-period pin of Muhlenberg's Jackson Karrat, before a 9-2 setback to Wilkes' Kyle Tino ended his day.

Freshmen Trevor Mastorio and Liam Walker combined for three victories before bowing out of the tournament.

The second installation of the tournament featured wrestlers from 16 different institutions.

Up Next: No. 8 Wrestling returns to Grantham, Pennsylvania for the Southeast Regional Championship, hosted by Messiah College on Feb. 28-29.

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