Wrestling

Wrestling Has Exceptional Day at Journeymen Collegiate Classic on Sunday

Sunday, Nov. 8 Wrestling Results
Buffalo vs. Daktronics Open
Lock Haven vs. Journeyman Classic
Clarion vs. Journeyman Classic
Bloomsburg vs. Journeyman Classic
SIUE 37, Friends (Kan.) 3
SIUE 42, Maryville 3
 
Recaps courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments

Buffalo Bulls
BROOKINGS, SD – The University at Buffalo wrestling team competed at the Daktronics Open on Sunday afternoon hosted by South Dakota State. Gianni Silvestri and Sam Ewing took first place with six other Bulls taking second place.

After earning a first-round bye, Silvestri (133) went 3-0 on the day. He beat former Bull Tristan Daugherty of North Dakota State in his first bout, 4-1. He earned a 2-1 decision over Minnesota's Trey Beissel in the semifinals and then topped Brett Swenson, also of Minnesota, in the finals, 7-6.

Sam Ewing was dominant at 157. The senior went 4-0 to take first place. In his opener, Ewing earned an 18-5 major decision over South Dakota State's Cavin Carlson. He followed with a 3-0 decision over North Dakota State's Dante Hutchings. In the semifinals, Ewing outlasted North Dakota State's Brandon Dean, 16-11. He earned a second-period pin over South Dakota State's Makael Aguayo to take the title.

Six other Bulls advanced to the finals. Zachary Belverio (125), Rex Bryson (165), Ioannis Drapaniotis (184), Connor Jacobs (197), Aaron Lanster (149) and Mason Rohr (141) all took second place.


Lock Haven Bald Eagles
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Six wrestlers went unbeaten and eight won their pools on Sunday as the Lock Haven men's wrestling team turned in a stellar effort at the Journeymen Classic Round Robin.

Lock Haven's Chris Noto, Tucker Hogan and Brody Rebuck all went unbeaten at the Journeymen Classic Round Robin on Sunday, and between them they never let a bout go to the final horn without bonus points.

Noto, a freshman at 133, went a perfect 3-0 on the day. He opened with a 7-3 decision over Illinois' Grif Powell before pinning LIU's Guglielmo Dario in 1:34. Noto wrapped up the day with a 15-0 tech fall over Navy's Carter Caleb at 7:00.

Tucker Hogan also went a perfect 3-0 with each victory coming in bonus-point fashion. The junior 197 pounder beat Gabe Smith of Franklin & Marshall 16-5 to open the day, then made quick work of Binghamton's Quinn Funk by a 15-0 tech fall in 3:24. Tucker Hogan finished the day with another tech fall victory, this time a 16-0 triumph over Mason Marolo of Clarion in 4:48.

Rebuck, a freshman 285 pounder, also won each of his bouts but each came via fall. Rebuck decked Navy's Dom Iaquinto in 2:52 then showed the lights to Sacred Heart's Sam Henry in 4:00. The freshman wrapped up his day with a quick fall over LIU's Mulhern James in 37 seconds.

Zane Leitzel went an unblemished 3-0 at 141 pounds with a pair of bonus point wins along the way. Leitzel started the day with a pin of Francis Burke of Franklin & Marshall in 3:53 prior to a 14-2 major decision over LIU's Tucker Pazinko. The freshman wrapped up the day with a 6-0 decision over Duke's Raymond Adams.

At 149 pounds, Kelly Kakos went 3-0, beating Lehigh's Seamus Mack, 11-8, before topping Cornell's Adrian DeJesus, 4-1. Kakos' final victory came via a 7-3 decision win over Clarion's Oliver Fairchild.

Matt Arndt went 2-0 to round out the perfect days for the Bald Eagles matmen at 165 pounds. Arndt notched two bonus-point wins, including a 19-3 technical fall over Sacred Heart's Anthony Totta and a 16-6 major decision over Tyler Fromm of Franklin & Marshall.

Caden Judice went 2-0, pinning Sacred Heart's Nolan Hook in 4:26 and beating Navy's Gavin Cole 11-3, with his lone loss on the mat coming by an 8-5 score in a sudden-victory match to Arndt. Both Arndt and Judice were the winners of their respective 165-pound pools.

A reminder that per NCAA rules, when two wrestlers from the same team meet in a tournament, the result is not official, as they are not official matches. It does not count as a win or a loss.

Jake Zaltsman picked up the victory in his pool with a 2-1 afternoon, including a win over a ranked wrestler at 141 pounds. Zaltsman fell to open the day before wrapping up his day with wins over a pair of Big Ten wrestlers. The freshman knocked off No. 28 Greyson Clark of Illinois by a 9-7 score and rounded out the day with a 9-8 win over Indiana's Lucas Peters to win the pool.

Brett Barbush pinned Sacred Heart's Lucas Gutierez in 2:26 en route to winning his pool and rounding out the Bald Eagles' pool winners for the day.

Aside from their pool winners, the Bald Eagles also claimed three second-place finishes and a third-place finish on a busy afternoon at Freedom High School.

Up Next: Lock Haven is back in action when it opens the dual meet part of the schedule with a match against Bucknell on Sunday, Nov. 15. Action against the Bison is set for 5 p.m.


Clarion Golden Eagles
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Adrian Gacek enjoyed a perfect day of competition in his pool, and seven other Golden Eagles finished with a pair of wins, as the Golden Eagle wrestling team competed at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic.
 
Gacek went 3-0 in 184 Gold – Pool B, with two of his three wins coming with bonus points. The redshirt junior started his day with a first-period fall over Hofstra's Jaden Simpson; Gacek took Simpson down twice in the first period and then locked in an armbar, eventually working Simpson to his back with six seconds remaining in the period to get the fall. Gacek followed that up with a 17-1 technical fall over Franklin & Marshall's Leo Varga, with two takedowns and a four-point near fall in the third period, and then beat Virginia Tech's Kyle Scott 7-3 for a decision.
 
In addition to Gacek's performances, the Golden Eagles had seven other wrestlers who won two of their three matches:
  • Alejandro Herrera-Rondon won 165 Red – Pool B 
  • Zachary Marrero went 2-1 in 133 Red – Pool A
  • Keagan Oler went 2-1 in 141 Red – Pool B
  • Matthew Smith won his first two bouts in 157 Green – Pool A
  • Gavin Lewis rebounded from a loss in his first match in 133 White – Pool B
  • Jaden Wehler opened his 2-1 day in 165 White – Pool A 
  • Dylan Barrett started his day off with a technical fall over Sacred Heart's Lucas Loffredo, with the vast majority of the scoring action coming in an exciting second period. Barrett got one final takedown early in the third period, taking control to clinch the win. He followed up with an exciting, literally last-second win over Harvard's Carter Shin, taking Shin down at the edge of the circle just as time was expiring to earn a 5-4 decision. Barrett lost to Davidon's DeLoach Koa by 10-7 decision in his final bout of the day.

Bloomsburg Huskies
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Bloomsburg wrestling turned in a strong showing at the 2026 Journeymen Collegiate Classic on Sunday, collecting 23 contested victories across 13 wrestlers in the round-robin tournament in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Justin Jones and Eric Alderfer led the Huskies with three victories apiece, both completing unbeaten performances in their respective brackets. Bloomsburg also received multiple wins from Tristan Corbin, Scotty Johnson, Carl Nihranz IV, Jay Chase, Nate Rose and Mohamed Abdelhady while several younger wrestlers contributed victories against competition from across the NCAA Division I landscape.
  
Scotty Johnson also finished with two victories, both by decision, in the 141-pound Pink bracket. Johnson defeated Maryland's Clayton Gabrielson, 12-5, before posting an identical 12-5 decision over Cornell's Joe Knackstedt. Johnson entered the season with 31 career victories, giving the Huskies an experienced presence in the middle of the lineup.

The Huskies also received contributions throughout the lineup. At 125 pounds, Gavin Martin earned a 7-2 decision over Cornell's Kai Napadow-Baquero in the Pink bracket. Martin entered the weekend after recording six victories during the 2025-26 campaign and added another quality result against Ivy League competition.

Aiden Grogg earned an 8-6 decision over Columbia's Brady Kaupp in the 141-pound Blue bracket, continuing to build on his seven-win campaign last season.

At 165 pounds, Daniel Dacey registered an impressive fall over Sacred Heart's Jack Rowland in 4:27 in the White bracket, securing his first collegiate victory after opening the season at the Clarion Open.

George Johnson picked up his first collegiate victory in decisive fashion at 174 pounds, earning a 17-2 technical fall over Lehigh's Justin Onello in 5:32 in the Teal bracket.

Gavin Hannah added a bonus-point victory at 184 pounds, pinning Davidson's Daniel Elyash in 4:03 in the Green bracket. Hannah entered the tournament with two victories from the Clarion Open after recording three wins during the 2025-26 season, including two falls.

The Huskies' individual performances followed Saturday's dual-meet competition against Sacred Heart and Duke at the Journeymen event, giving Bloomsburg another opportunity to test its lineup against a diverse field of Division I opponents early in the 2026-27 season.

Bloomsburg returns to dual-meet competition Thursday, Nov. 12, when the Huskies travel to University Park to face Penn State at 7 p.m.

Inside the Results: Bloomsburg recorded 23 contested victories from 13 wrestlers, including 10 bonus-point wins. Jones and Alderfer each finished 3-0, while six other Huskies collected two victories apiece. The Huskies totaled five falls, three technical falls and two major decisions. Alderfer led the bonus-point production with a fall and a major decision, while Chase added a technical fall and a major decision.
 

SIUE Cougars (2-0, 0-0 MAC)
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE wrestling sailed to a quick 2-0 start to the season Sunday with a pair of victories over Friends (Kan.) and Maryville.
The Cougars routed Friends 37-3 and followed that up with a 42-3 drubbing of Maryville.

Fifteen different SIUE wrestlers won matches during the double dual match in SIUE Head Coach Daryl Thomas' head coaching debut. Kiernan Meink (141), PJ Murphy (157) and Gage Murphy (165) each wrestled twice and won twice.

Bonus points were abundant for SIUE. The Cougars picked up pins from Meink, Hayden Whidden, Ben Lunn and Amare Overton. Technical falls were earned by Marcel Lopez, Dominic Lopez, Shawn Kogan, Gage Murphy and Bradley Gillum.

SIUE now prepares for its first Mid-Continent Conference match on Friday against George Mason. The match time is 6 p.m. at First Community Arena.