YORK, Pa. (January 20, 2024) – No. 20/17 Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling won five individual championships as the Ducks captured their fourth straight Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Championship Saturday at the M&T Bank Center and hosted by York College of Pennsylvania.

Graduate students Akhil Vega and Pasquale Vizzoni joined sophomore Ryan Smith, graduate student Stefan Major and senior Joel Martsinovsky in winning conference championships as the Ducks amassed 166.5 points to finish atop the six-team standings. All totaled, the Ducks finished with 13 place-winners as two student-athletes finished second, while another two finished third. Stevens finished 8.5 points ahead of #6/7 Alvernia, who finished with 158. Delaware Valley totaled 118/5 points to slot in third, with Messiah (100.5), York (70.5) and King's (53.5) rounding out the standings. The Ducks' five individual crowns matched the program-high at the MAC Championships and brought Stevens' all-time total to 20.

The victory extended the Ducks' run of conference championships to nine dating back to the program's time in the Centennial Conference. Saturday's competition marked the 77th iteration of the MAC championship and Stevens moved into a tie for fifth-place all-time in the MAC's lengthy history with four league titles. 

Each of the five individual champions were named First Team All-MAC, while sophomore Nico Diaz and junior Blaise Wagner earned second-team all-league in their respective weight classes. Senior Andrew Finateri and junior Harrison Hinojosa were named Third Team All-MAC to round out the all-conference selections.

The conference title was the first for Martsinovsky, Smith, Vega and Vizzoni and the third for Major. 

The Rundown

• At 125, Vega extended his winning streak to nine with three bonus-point victories. After a first-round bye, the Cupertino, California native began his tournament with a first-period pin of King's' Quinn O'Callaghan in just 50 seconds. Vega made it two pins in as many matches with a second-period pin of York's Jacob Kresicki. Vega had amassed a 21-6 lead before the fall, including an impressive five takedowns in the second period. In the championship match, Vega scored the first four points of the match – all in the second period and then extended his lead with a stalling point in what would turn out to be a 9-1 major over Alvernia's Keito Shaw.
• Vizzoni began his march to the 149-pound title with a tidy 15-0 tech fall over Delaware Valley's Mike Rubino. A quick takedown from the neutral position at the start of the final period led to the stoppage. It was another bonus-point win for Vizzoni in the quarterfinals as the Flemington, New Jersey native built a 7-1 through the first period en route to a 12-1 major over Messiah's Camerin Deville. Vizzoni then recorded an 8-2 decision victory in the semis before cementing his conference championship with a 7-3 decision Alvernia's Chance Babb. All totaled, Vizzoni conceded just six points across his four bouts.
• After a runner-up finish one season ago, Smith received a first-round bye and opened his tournament with a first-period pin of Delaware Valley's Hayden Mann. Smith had scored an early takedown and held control for nearly two minutes – earning a four-point near-fall – before the pin. Smith continued his outstanding second-year campaign with an 18-0 tech fall over Bret Murphy of King's, with all 18 points coming in the first two minutes of the match. In the final, an early takedown of Delaware Valley's Nick DeLorenzo to take an early lead, and only conceded an escape point to secure a 7-1 decision to clinch his first league title.
• At 174, Major made quick work of his first two opponents. After an opening-round bye, Major pinned Messiah's Chris Cratsley in just 59 seconds. The Fort Salonga, New York native needed a little more time in his semifinal bout – but not much more – in pinning Alvernia's Jimmy Circle in 103 seconds. Major captured his third conference title in style, blanking Messiah's Austin Brass 6-0. 
• Martsinovsky also had an opening-round bye at 184 and matched Major with a first-period pin in his first match of the day, stopping Alvernia's Dan Schweitzer in 41 seconds. The Richboro, Pennsylvania native had an 8-0 shutout of Messiah's Ryder Slayton to reach the conference championship match and a showdown with Alvernia's #3/4 Isaac Kassis. Meeting the nationally-ranked Kassis for the first time this season, recorded the first point of the match with an escape from the bottom position at the start of the second period. Kassis matched Martsinovsky with an escape at the start of the third period, but Martsinovsky scored a takedown with just 20 seconds left in the match to secure the 4-1 victory.

Top Performers

• At 141, Diaz opened his tournament with consecutive to extend his streak of bonus-point victories to five. The Woodbridge, New Jersey native toppled Messiah's Shaun Quirk 20-4 after three takedowns in the final period. Diaz then stopped York's Bryan Diaz with a takedown at the start of the final period to put a bow on a 22-5 victory. He moved on to the championship match with a 4-3 decision over Alvernia's #14/13 Avery Leonard with a takedown with a little over a minute left in the bout proving to be the pivotal points. In the final, Diaz took on Messiah's #11/4 Josiah Gehr. The grapplers were separated by just a single point before Gehr scored a takedown with 28 seconds left in regulation and, in conjunction with the riding time point, Gehr walked away with a 9-4 victory.
• After an opening-round bye at 197, Wagner pinned Messiah's Nathanial Manarin in the first period to reach the semis. Wagner registered a takedown of Delaware Valley's Daniel Eckley in the first and second periods and came away with a 7-4 decision. In the championship match, #4/7 Mauro Pellot ended Wagner's run with a first-period pin.
• At 133, Finateri dropped his first match of the day with a 3-0 decision setback to Messiah's Caiden Heller in the quarterfinals. The Yorktown Heights, New York native rebounded with an 18-3 tech fall over York's Joel DeFreytas, with 14 of the points coming in the opening period. In the consolation semis, Finateri spun an impressive 11-0 major over Alvernia's Anthony Portillo to set up a rematch with Heller in the third-place match. Finateri built an 8-3 lead through the opening period and Heller had the only points of the second period to send the wrestlers in the final stanza with Finateri holding an 8-7 lead. It would be Finateri, however, that came out victorious after a takedown in the final minute to secure an 11-8 victory.
• At 165, Hinojosa secured the second all-conference accolade of his career with a third-place finish. The Haddon Township, New Jersey native had a pair of bonus-point victories to begin his day, scoring a 14-2 major over Alvernia's Ryan Lepore, before pinning King's Alex Ballantyne in just under two minutes. A second-period pin by Delaware Valley's Adam Coleman dropped Hinojosa into the consolation bracket, but the Ducks' 165-pounder quickly rebounded with an impressive 18-1 tech fall over Lepore before securing his place with a victory over York's Justice Hockenberry-Folk in the third-place match.
• Also of note, junior Max Ruiz finished fourth at 285 with a pair of decision victories and a third-period pin as all 10 of the Duck starters earned a top-four finish in their respective weight classes.
• Additionally, junior Brendan Newbury finished fifth at 184 and graduate student Arjun Khatri was sixth at 133. Finally, junior Joseph Russell returned to the mat for the first time since the 2021-22 season and notched a tech fall and a pin on his way to a fifth-place finish at 197 to round out the Ducks' place-winners.

For the Opponents

• Alvernia and Delaware Valley each had multiple champions. For the Aggies, NR/#20 Jacob Blair finished atop the podium at 133, while Gehr finished first at 141. For Alvernia, #1/1 Matt Lackman topped the field at 165 and Pellot earned the title at 197.
• Messiah's Hayden Benner took first place at heavyweight to round out the non-Stevens conference champions.

Coach's Comments

• "We knew coming into the conference tournament that it was going to be a battle and we needed a full team effort to get the job done. The team stepped up to challenge and were locked in from the opening whistle. We were scoring a lot of bonus points and were able to pick up some huge wins to propel us to our ninth straight conference championship. Extremely proud that all ten starters finished in the top-4 in their respective weight class. The balance throughout the lineup was instrumental in this championship performance and finishing at the top of a tough field." – associate head coach Anthony Bonaventura

Up Next

• Stevens, ranked 8th and 6th in the respective dual polls, will head to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania for Wilkes' John Reese Duals. Matchups and appropriate live stats and video links will be posted to StevensDucks.com once available.

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