MEQUON, Wis. (November 19, 2022)  – Senior Hunter Gutierrez and junior Luke Hoerle finished first at 149 and 125, respectively, to lead No. 5 Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling Saturday at the 29th annual CUW Open, hosted by Concordia University Wisconsin at the R. John Buck Fieldhouse. 

A total of eight Ducks placed at the prestigious event, which featured eight schools ranked by the National Wrestling Coaches Association in its latest Division III poll. First-year Nico Diaz and senior Kyle Slendorn finished second at 133 and 141, respectively, while first-year Jason Smith took fourth at 157. Junior Stefan Major was sixth at 174, with senior Frank Medina (third at 184) and sophomore Brendan Newbury (fourth at 184) rounding out the place-winners.

"The team competed hard and had a great showing at one of the toughest tournaments in the country," associate head coach Anthony Bonaventura said "Proud of their effort against some stiff competition. A lot of positive takeaways from today's performance."

"A dominant showing by the two individual champions," Bonaventura continued. "They made a big statement and I am excited for them to continue to improve as we move through the season."

Gutierrez had a dominant showing at 149, scoring five bonus-point victories en route to earning the event's Most Outstanding Wrestler award. The Lacey Township, New Jersey product counted three falls among his five victories, while also adding a tech fall and a major to his season total. Two of Gutierrez's three pins on the day came over nationally-ranked wrestlers in the final two rounds of the tournament: first, Gutierrez pinned No. 7 Javen Estrada of North Central in the first round and then the fourth-year wrestler used a first-period pin of Wisconsin-Whitewater's fifth-ranked Jake Buford to win the individual title.

Hoerle had an incredibly impressive run to reach the 125-pound title match, scoring three straight tech falls, including an 18-2 margin over No. 13 Julian Valtierrez in the semifinal round. The Westfield, New Jersey product closed out his championship run with an 11-4 decision over Wartburg's James Levy.

Diaz opened his tournament with a pin of Harper College's Kyree Noble, earning the fall in the first period. The Woodbridge, New Jersey native then reached the 133-pound title bout with consecutive decision victories, including a 5-2 victory over No. 11 Blake McGee of Wabash. In the championship bout, Diz dropped a hard-fought 7-4 score to No. 1 Robbie Percin of North Central. Percin, the defending 133-pound national champion, entered the tournament with 44 straight victories.

Slendorn had a strong start to his tournament, scoring a first-period fall over Concordia's Frank Budederi. The Ramtown, New Jersey native then advanced to the 141-pound title with three straight decisions, conceding just seven points across the three bouts, including just one in 2-1 semifinal victory over No. 15 Ethan Renager of Wheaton. In the championship, Slendorn dropped a spirited 10-7 decision to No. 1, and 2021 national runner-up, Zayren Terukina of Wartburg.

At 157, Smith continued the impressive start to his inaugural season on Castle Point, adding four decision victories to his season ledger. He finished 4-2 on the day, with his only two setbacks coming by a combined two points with an escape point accounting for the lone point in a pair of 1-0 defeats.

Major had three bonus-point victories to reach the 174-pound semifinals. The Fort Salonga, New York native began his day with consecutive pins of Wartburg's Devin Nobiling and Elmhurst's Liam Cole, with each fall coming in the second minute of action. Major then scored a major decision over Concordia's Jonathan Pullen. Major dropped to the consolation bracket after falling via major decision to No. 3 Seth Brossard of Wisconsin-La Crosse before bowing out of the tournament.

Newbury and Medina combined for eight victories at 184 before meeting in the third-place match. Both Ducks reached the quarterfinals with a decision victory and a tech fall in their first two matches, with Newbury scoring a tech fall over Concordia's Dawson Galvan in his opening match and Medina collecting the decisive victory over Wartburg's Zak Kozumplick in his second match. Newbury dropped to the consolation bracket after falling to No. 1 Jarrit Shinhoster, while Medina fell to Wisconsin-Whitewater's Evan Danowski. Both wrestlers moved through the consolation side of the bracket, meeting in the third-place match, with Medina scoring a 5-1 decision over Newbury, using a three-point second period to earn the victory. 

Additional victories came from first-year Vincent Principe, who scored a major decision victory over North Central's Davion Johnson and a second-period pin of North Central's Cameron Phillips at 125 pounds, and classmate Ryan Smith, who collected a pair of decision wins at 157. Sophomore Harrison Hinojosa scored a tech fall and a decision victory at 157 and junior Joel Martsinovsky posted a 5-1 record at 174, with three of the five victories coming via pin. Graduate student Michael Dooley had a pin and a decision victory at heavyweight before bowing out of the tournament. 

As a team, the Ducks totaled 14 pins and went 47-19 on the day. The Ducks' 0.712 winning percentage was second among the 15-team field.

Up Next: No. 5 Wrestling returns to the mats on Friday, Dec. 2 for the two-day New Standard Corporation Invitational, hosted by York College of Pennsylvania. The event kicks off at 3 p.m. at the M&T Bank Field House. Links for live stats and video will be posted to StevensDucks.com once they are available.

Facebook: "Like" Stevens Athletics         
Twitter: @stevensducks
Instagram: @stevensducks
#AllRise