ALLENTOWN, Pa. (February 19, 2023) – First-year Justin Ciliotta, senior Pasquale Vizzoni and junior Joel Martsinovsky each finished first in their respective weight classes to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling team Sunday in the National Guard Mideast Futures Tournament, hosted by Muhlenberg College at the Dietrich Field House. 

Senior James Snyder finished second at 165, sophomore Blaise Wagner took second at 174 and sophomore Max Ruiz finished second at 197 for the Ducks, who had six wrestlers place at the annual event. A total of 16 institutions competed at the annual event that serves as a precursor to the regional tournament set for later this week.

Ciliotta topped the field at 141, winning two matches via major decision that surrounded a pair of decision victories. The Towaco, New Jersey native opened his tournament with an 11-2 major over Elizabethtown's Owen Heffner. Consecutive decision wins moved Ciliotta into the championship match, where he capped his tournament with a 12-1 major over Alvernia's Connor Platt. 

Vizzoni posted five victories on his way to the 149-pound title. The Flemington, New Jersey native opened his tournament with a 10-2 major over Wilkes' Ben Grater, before a decision and a first-period fall moved Vizzoni into the semifinals. Vizzoni posted a 12-1 major to reach the finals and then won the championship bout via forfeit over Wilkes' Jaryn Hartranft. Vizzoni's five victories moved his season record to 28-7 with 13 wins coming with bonus points. 

Martsinkovsky, meanwhile, received an opening-round bye and pinned Wilkes' Soulemayne Diarra in the second period for his first win of the day. Consecutive majors brought the Richboro, Pennsylvania native into the championship bout, where he topped Wagner via a hard-fought 4-3 decision. 

Snyder had an impressive start to his tournament with consecutive tech falls. Snyder topped Gettysburg's Graham Chandler via an 18-0 margin and followed that up with a 20-3 victory over Muhlenberg's Shane Trattner. Snyder advanced to the finals with a 5-2 decision over sophomore Jack Bailey before falling to TCNJ's Alex Strashinsky via a 9-5 decision.

Wagner advanced through the 174-pound bracket before falling to Martsinovsky in the championship. After an opening-round bye, Wagner posted back-to-back majors over McDaniel's Avery Cummings (14-3) and Ursinus' Alex Koenig (10-1). In the semifinal round, Wagner defeated RIT's Zach Swyers via an 8-5 decision. 

Also the recipient of an opening-round bye, Ruiz began his tournament with his fifth and sixth pins of the year. First, the West Caldwell, New Jersey native pinned Muhlenberg's Deon Savage in the third period before earning the fall over Alvernia's Zach Scheffler in the second period. In the final, Ruiz fell to Wilkes' Dawson Tallant via a narrow 8-6 decision.

Elsewhere in the tournament, first-year Vincent Principe had a tech fall and decision win at 125, classmate Anthony Bistany had a major at 133, junior Andrew Finateri had four wins, two with bonus points, at 133, sophomore Branden Bulatao had two wins at 157 as did first-year Jason Smith. Bailey had two wins at 165 to round out the Ducks' victories on the day.

As a team, the Ducks totaled five wins and tied for the tournament lead with four tech falls. The Ducks finished with a 44-25 record on the day, finishing third with a .638 winning percentage. Individually, Snyder was one of two wrestlers in the entire tournament that had two tech falls.

Up Next: Wrestling returns to Pennsylvania on Feb. 24 for the Southeast Regional Championship. The Ducks have won the last two regional titles. The two-day event is hosted by York College of Pennsylvania. Links for live stats and video are posted to StevensDucks.com.

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