By Eddie Young
Sports Editor
The College’s No. 14 wrestling team won two of their three matches on Nov. 18 in a dual meet at the Arm Bar at the Armory in Albany, N.Y. The day started with a dominant 49-0 victory over York College and finished with a 30-10 win over Cornell College; sandwiched in between the two wins was a tough 25-9 loss against No. 5 Wisconsin-La Crosse.
The College had 10 wrestlers fight in each meet, and all 10 won their respectives matches in the York matchup. This helped the College continue their recent dominance over York College, as they have won the last four matchups dating back to 2019. 125-pound freshman Matt Griffin and 285-pound fifth-year Peter Wersinger both won their bouts on pins; four other technical fall wins, three decision wins and a forfeit victory gave the College the sweep over York.
The next matchup for the Lions was against a fellow ranked opponent in No. 5 Wisconsin-La Crosse. Griffin continued his hot start with another victory in the 125-pound class, this time by decision. 133-pound junior Kyle Nase and 165-pound junior Alex Sacco also won their bouts on decision, giving the Lions two wins in the two smallest weight classes and the 165-pound class, but that was where the wins would end in this meet. Six victories by decision and one by technical fall gave the higher ranked Wisconsin-La Crosse a fairly easy win over the Lions, officially by a score of 25-9.
The College ended their day off against Cornell College. To start things off, Griffin was able to complete a three-win day as he earned his third victory on a technical fall. Sacco was also able to secure a technical fall win in his bout against a Cornell College wrestler, also giving him a perfect three wins on the day. 157-pound senior Alex Strashinksy was able to get a big pin for the Lions in just under two minutes, and that helped propel his squad to their win. Four more decisions in favor of the College helped them to secure their 30-10 victory over Cornell College, giving them two wins on the day in Albany.
The Lions will have a bit of a break before their next round of meets, as on Dec. 1 and Dec. 2 they will be heading to York College to compete in the New Standard Invitational. The following weekend, they will travel to Rhode Island to challenge No. 4 Johnson & Wales on the road. They will follow that matchup up with the Scott Viera Open in Bristol, R.I. on Dec. 9, which will be their final meet until Jan. 5.
