WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (January 13, 2024) – Graduate student Akhil Vega, junior Blaise Wagner, sophomore Nico Diaz, and sophomore Ryan Smith each had a pair of wins to lead No. 8/5 Stevens Institute of Technology to second place Saturday in the Budd Whitehill Duals, hosted by Lycoming College at Lamade Gymnasium
After winning Pool A Friday, the Ducks began the day by defeating Washington & Lee 31-13 in the semifinals, before falling to No. 9/6 Wisconsin- Eau Claire 26-13 in the finals.
The second-place finish is the second in as many years for the Ducks. After marching through last year's bracket, the Ducks also fell to Wisconsin Eau-Claire in the championship round.
No. 15/10 Diaz had a solid day for Stevens, winning his first match via a 19-1 tech fall over Skyler Hickman, and followed that with a 13-3 major decision in the championship. No. 4/7 Smith earned a 9-1 major against Washington & Lee, and then won via a one-point decision in the championship match. Wagner scored wins by both major and regular decision, while Vega earned wins by forfeit and decision.
Additionally, first-year Carmen Cortese, junior Branden Bulatao and first-years Chris Piazza and Ben Sanders each picked up wins in extra countable matches.
Stevens were in the championship bracket after going 3-0 in pool play on Friday. The Ducks defeated McDaniel, Wilkes, and Ithaca to win Pool A. Roanoke joined the Ducks, Washington & Lee, and Wisconsin-Eau Claire in the championship bracket.
The 35th annual event is held annually in honor of Lycoming's former longtime head wrestling coach.
The Rundown
- The day began with the Ducks getting six points as Vega won via forfeit to open the dual with the Generals. Senior Andrew Finateri then pinned Trey Custodio in 1:33. Diaz followed that with his 19-1 tech fall as the Ducks built an early 17-0 lead. The Generals finally got on the board as Evan Lindner won by decision over graduate student Pasquale Vizzoni 8-1 at 149, but Smith then picked up a major decision win to get those points right back. Washington & Lee got back-to-back decision victories as Mark Troni and No. 11/18 Harrison Kelly took down No. 13/10 Harrison Hinojosa and No. 12/13 Stefan Major respectively to cut the Duck lead to 12. The match would be settled in the next bout as senior No. 11/12 Joel Martsinovsky won by an injury. To conclude the dual, Wagner would pick up a 14-3 major decision victory, while junior Max Ruiz fell by major decision for the final outcome of the match.
- Against Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Vega again put Stevens on the board early with a 7-5 decision over Carter Schulz to give the Ducks a 3-0 lead. The lead would trade hands, as the BluGolds' No. 7/7 Tyler Fleetwood won by a 19-1 tech fall over Finateri to go up 5-3. The two teams then traded major decisions, as Diaz won 13-3 over Bo Niewiadomski, while No. 6/6 Zach Soto defeated Cortese. Two one-point decisions followed, as Smith defeated Colton Sund 3-2 and No. 6/5 Tristan Massie won 3-2 over junior Chris Stathopoulos. The BluGolds then put together two more victories, one coming by technical fall over Major and the other by decision over Martsinovsky, to go up 20-10. Wagner would win in the next match, but it only earned the Ducks three points as he defeated Cole Matulenko via an 11-4 decision. With the championship already in hand, Sloan Welch pinned Ruiz in 1:39 to secure the 26-13 victory.
Top Performers
- Diaz recorded 32 points on the day and is now 9-1 in duals this season.
- Smith extends his winning streak to 11 with the two victories on Saturday. He is a perfect 8-0 in duals this year.
- The Ducks' lone pin of the day came from Finateri, which was his first of the season.
- Vega and Diaz each scored nine team points on the day, which led the team.
- The Ducks as a team had three major decisions on the day.
Around the Middle Atlantic Conference
- Messiah finished in tenth at the Budd Whitehill Duals as they defeated the Milwaukee School of Engineering 24-20 in the semifinal round of the 9-12 bracket, but then lost Lycoming 26-16.
- York finished in 14th at the Budd Whitehill Duals. They competed in the 13-16 bracket. They defeated Williams 33-18 in the semifinal match and then lost to Wilkes 27-14.
- #14/13 Alvernia is competing at day two of the Virginia Duals, with results to come later.
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