WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (November 5, 2022)  – Junior Luke Hoerle (125), first-year Ryan Smith (157) and graduate student Michael Dooley (HWT) finished first in their respective weight classes to lead the seventh-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling team to the team title Saturday at the Ned McGinley Invitational, hosted by King's (Pa.) College at its McGrane Gymnasium.

Senior Pasquale Vizzoni and sophomore Harrison Hinojosa finished second at 149 and 165, respectively, as a total of nine Ducks placed at the annual event. First-year Nico Diaz finished third at 133, while Jason Smith (157) and junior Joel Martsinovsky (174) each had fourth-place finishes. Sophomore Chris Stathopoulos took fifth at 165 to round out the place-winners. 

As a team, the Ducks amassed 139.5 points to finish comfortably ahead of area rival No. 10 NYU, who finished with 119. Wilkes finished third with 115.5, while RIT (113) and York (110) rounded out the top five.

"It was a good start," head coach Joe Favia said. "We left with a lot of things to improve upon and that was our mission. It was great to see young guys step up, embodying our philosophy, and it was encouraging to see veterans take ownership of their new roles within the lineup. I am excited for Princeton tomorrow and the opportunity it presents."

"The team wrestled really well today," Hoerle added. "We were approaching every match with an offensive mindset and kept on attacking, regardless of what the score was. There's still a lot that we can improve on, but this was a great way to open the season.

The event marked the collegiate debut for both Smiths, Diaz, and classmates Armaan Khatri, Jack Bailey, Justin Ciliotta and Vincent Principe, while transfer Owen Vietmeier made his Stevens debut.

After a bye to start the tournament, Hoerle, seeded third at 125, kicked off his third season on Castle Point with a dominating 18-3 tech fall over Roger Williams' Dan Hickey. The Westfield, New Jersey product then picked up his first pin of the year with a third-period fall over Wilkes' Cadden Kucek. Hoerle then reached the finals with an 18-5 major decision over York's second-seeded Jared Kuhns before topping top-seeded Austin Fashouer via a 7-2 decision in the championship bout. 

In his collegiate debut, Smith, who was unseeded at 157, scored his first collegiate victory with a pin of Waynesburg's Kyle Hinerman in the first period. He then reeled off four straight decision wins to claim the championship, including a come-from-behind 7-6 win over the top seed in the weight class, Trent Furman of NYU, where Smith used a takedown with just 14 seconds left in the final period to secure the victory. Smith also posted an impressive 4-0 shutout of Wilkes' Nikko Partsanakis in the quarterfinals.

Dooley, meanwhile, who held the top seed at heavyweight, posted three bonus-point victories on his road to finishing first. The Hillsborough, New Jersey native opened his final season on Castle Point with a third-period pin of Scranton's Hunter Martin before posting a 14-3 major decision over York's Brock Hofler. He closed out his tournament victory with a 7-3 decision over fourth-ranked Reid Garrison of the United States Merchant Marine Academy and a 16-7 major over second-seeded Caleb Burkhart of Wilkes.

Vizzoni kicked off his campaign with a first-period pin of Scranton's Christopher Bell, before scoring three straight decision wins to reach the 149-pound final, including an 8-4 victory over top-seeded Mike Glynn of RIT in the semifinal. In the championship bout, a second-period escape proved to be the difference in a narrow 3-2 setback to King's Shane Kibler.

Hinojosa had an impressive run to the 165 championship match, scoring four pins, with three coming in the second period. In the final, the second-year grappler dropped a hard-fought 4-0 decision to the top seed in the weight class, Cooper Pontelandolfo.

Diaz was the final top-three finisher for the Ducks, taking third at 133 in his first collegiate event. The Woodbridge, New Jersey native scored a pair of bonus-point wins in his first two matches, earning a tech fall over RIT's Gabe Scalise (22-7) and a major decision over Wilkes' Michael Richardson (20-6). After falling to the consolation bracket via a narrow 9-8 decision against York's top-seeded Dalton Rohrbaugh, Diaz scored consecutive second-period pins to earn his third-place finish.

Up Next: No. 7 Wrestling has a quick turnaround, competing tomorrow at the Princeton University Open. A link for the live video feed, which will be broadcasted across the ESPN+ platform ($) is posted to StevensDucks.com.

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