On November 1 and 2, the Stevens Wrestlers took part in both the season-opening Ned McGinley Invitational on Saturday and the Princeton Open on Sunday. The Ducks showed their class and finished third in the Ned McGinley Invitational by having nine different wrestlers finish in the top six in their respective weight classes. Senior Ryan Smith participated in the Princeton Open against Division I competition and placed sixth.
The Ned McGinley Invitational took place in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and began at 9 a.m. In terms of points, Stevens’ best performer was senior Vincent Principe. He began the day strong with a 15-0 technical fall and two decision wins, advancing to the semifinals. Although he was pinned by the top seed, Principe secured third place in the 133-pound category after winning the consolation match by forfeit.
Freshman Charles Piccione’s day began with two technical fall wins, picking up 32 points without conceding any. After a decision win put him in the semifinals, the first year lost via technical fall in the semifinals to the top seed, then by decision in the consolation match. George Pavis, a sophomore, reached the 149-pound semifinals after three straight decision wins, including a 2-0 victory over the bracket’s top seed. He then fell in both the semifinal and consolation matches, finishing his run with two close losses.
Freshman Noah Macllroy’s day started differently from the others with a loss; however, he responded with determination, winning two matches by technical fall. He then earned a pin in under a minute, followed by another technical fall. To finish the day, he claimed a dominant major decision victory, coming just one point short of earning his fourth technical fall. Tyler Roe, a sophomore, began his day with a decision win followed by a pin. After losing his next match by major decision, Roe closed out the day with an impressive 23-7 technical fall victory.
Sawyer Pugh, a freshman, started the day against the top seed at 174 and lost by major decision. He bounced back impressively, winning five straight matches – two by pin, one by technical fall, and two by major decision. Two more freshmen, Raffaele Fonte and Noah Berlin-Langston, both won four matches and finished in the top six of their respective weight classes. The culmination of these results, among many others, led to Stevens finishing third overall at the invitational.
On Sunday, starting at 9 a.m., Smith, a three-time All-American Duck, attended the Princeton Open in Princeton, New Jersey. He started his day with a decision loss, falling just one point shy of a technical fall win. Smith bounced back with a dominant 14-0 major decision win. After advancing with a forfeit, Smith earned back-to-back 4-1 sudden victory wins. Taking the win count to four.
Smith earned a 4-2 decision win over Rider’s James Farina, thanks to a key second-period takedown, advancing to the fifth-place match against Lock Haven’s Nick Stampoulos. There, he narrowly fell in a 2-1 decision. He finished in the top six and became the 10th Duck to do so that weekend. This was a truly impressive performance all around and shows promise for the wrestling season ahead.
