Stevens Wrestling began their fall season on Saturday, October 26, and officially stands at 1-1 thus far into the season.
The team opened with the Red & White Wrestle-Offs on October 26, a friendly competition between Ducks. A week later, this was followed by the Ned McGinley Invitational on Saturday, November 2, where the team finished fifth out of a total of 15 teams. Notable contenders included sophomore Carmen Cortese, weighing in at 149 pounds, junior Ryan Smith (157), and senior Chris Stathopoulos, who took respective first and two-second places in their weight classes. Out of the 23 Ducks that competed that day, six finished in the top five of their weight classes.
The next weekend was a busy one for the team when they competed against Delaware Valley University on Friday, November 8, and then took on the Racich Rumble the very next day. Out of the ten wrestlers put up against Delaware Valley, six took victories, including two falls, and collected a total of 30 points to find themselves a victory margin of nine points in the final score of 30-21. Then, at the Racich Rumble, the team took 12 out of 15 teams, with notable victories, including junior Jason Smith’s fourth-place finish in the 165-pound weight class.
A loss of 15-23 against Loras College on Thursday, November 14, evened out the team’s scoreboard. The Ducks only took four of the ten matches of the day, two of which had resulted in ties. Both Cortese and Stathopoulos finished neck and neck with their Duhawk opponents but pulled out a victory by decision.
Graduate student Luke Hoerle (141) took a big win for the team when he finished first in his weight class this past Saturday, November 16, at the Augsburg University Invitational in Minneapolis, MN. Other notable wins of the day for the Ducks were those of senior Blaise Wagner, a 197-pound wrestler, and Stathopoulos, who both took third in their respective brackets.
The team is only beginning their 2024-2025 season and is looking forward to many future matches, including tomorrow, Saturday, November 23, when they will be hosting Ursinus College, Castleton State College, and Roanoke College. Meets will occur at 10 a.m., 12 p.m., and 2 p.m. in Canavan Arena.
