LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Johnson & Wales (RI) University wrestling team knocked off No. 1 Wartburg College en route to a second-place finish at the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) National Duals Saturday.
After wins over TCNJ (27-13) in the first round and North Central (22-18) in the quarterfinals on Friday, head coach Lonnie Morris and the Wildcats scored a two-point win over the Knights to advance to the semifinals. JWU ran out of gas in the finals against Augsburg, falling 35-8. This marked the second time in program history the Wildcats advanced to the NWCA national finals (2019).
In its opening match, JWU senior Ryan DeVivo scored a fall at 184 lbs. over nationally-ranked No. 7 Quinn Haddad of the Lions in 2:06. Junior Hayden Brown (149 lbs.), along with freshmen Joziah Fry (125 lbs.) and Adolfo Betancur (285 lbs.), were among those victorious for the Wildcats.
Against the Cardinals in the next round, the Wildcats fell behind 18-6 before ripping off four-straight wins to advance. Graduate student Michael Ross began the run with a pin in 3:57 before wins by DeVivo, sophomore Dylan Harr (197 lbs.), and graduate student Liridon Leka (285 lbs.) completed the comeback. Brown, meanwhile, dropped down a weight class for the first time this season and scored a key win over nationally-ranked No. 5 Javon Estrada at 149 lbs.
JWU opened up competition on Saturday against Wartburg as graduate student William Hughes picked up a fall win over nationally-ranked No. 1 David Hollingsworth in 6:56. DeVivo, meanwhile, downed No. 4 Jordan Bushey 15-6 while Ross was on the winning end of a 6-2 decision over Zane Moulder. Fry (125 lbs.) and Brown (149 lbs.) were also victorious.
Brown's win over No. 2 Tyler Shilson of Augsburg was the highlight of the finals match for the Wildcats. Fry was also victorious with a 22-5 win at 125 lbs.
Complete Results - Friday
Match #1 Champ. Round 1
Johnson & Wales (RI) defeated TCNJ 27-13
- 125 - Joziah Fry (Johnson & Wales (RI)) over Ryan Rosenthal (TCNJ) Maj 16-5
- 133 - Kyle Nase (TCNJ) over Christian Rivas (Johnson & Wales (RI)) Dec 10-4
- 141 - Domenic Difrancescantonio (TCNJ) over Gabriel Leo-Esparolini (Johnson & Wales (RI)) Maj 12-4
- 149 - Hayden Brown (Johnson & Wales (RI)) over Michael Conklin (TCNJ) Fall 2:44
- 157 - Matthew Sacco (TCNJ) over William Hughes (Johnson & Wales (RI)) Dec 7-4
- 165 - Nicholas Sacco (TCNJ) over Patrick Wisniewski (Johnson & Wales (RI)) Dec 1-0
- 174 - Michael Ross (Johnson & Wales (RI)) over Reid Colella (TCNJ) TF 16-0
- 184 - Ryan DeVivo (Johnson & Wales (RI)) over Quinn Haddad (TCNJ) Fall 2:06
- 197 - Dylan Harr (Johnson & Wales (RI)) over Joe Daddario (TCNJ) Dec 7-1
- 285 - Adolfo Betancur (Johnson & Wales (RI)) over Peter Wersinger (TCNJ) TB-1 4-1
Match #2 Semifinal
Johnson & Wales (RI) defeated North Central 22-18
- 125 - Joziah Fry (Johnson & Wales (RI)) over Julian Valtierrez (North Central) Maj 13-4
- 133 - Robbie Precin (North Central) over Christian Rivas (Johnson & Wales (RI)) TF 18-3
- 141 - Bradley Rosen (North Central) over Gabriel Leo-Esparolini (Johnson & Wales (RI)) Dec 12-9
- 149 - Hayden Brown (Johnson & Wales (RI)) over Javen Estrada (North Central) Dec 8-3
- 157 - Alex Villar (North Central) over William Hughes (Johnson & Wales (RI)) Maj 12-3
- 165 - Cole Cervantes (North Central) over Scott Defex (Johnson & Wales (RI)) Fall 6:46
- 174 - Michael Ross (Johnson & Wales (RI)) over Casey Aikman (North Central) Fall 3:57
- 184 - Ryan DeVivo (Johnson & Wales (RI)) over Payton Geigner (North Central) Dec 5-4
- 197 - Dylan Harr (Johnson & Wales (RI)) over Elijah Brockie (North Central) Dec 10-3
- 285 - Liridon Leka (Johnson & Wales (RI)) over Robby Bates (North Central) Dec 5-4
Complete Results - Saturday
Match #3 Semifinal
Johnson & Wales (RI) defeated Wartburg 21-19
- 125 - Joziah Fry (Johnson & Wales (RI)) over James Levy (Wartburg) TF 22-6
- 133 - Joe Pins (Wartburg) over Christian Rivas (Johnson & Wales (RI)) TF 19-3
- 141 - Zayren Terukina (Wartburg) over Gabriel Leo-Esparolini (Johnson & Wales (RI)) Maj 13-3
- 149 - Hayden Brown (Johnson & Wales (RI)) over Kristian Rumph (Wartburg) Dec 4-0
- 157 - William Hughes (Johnson & Wales (RI)) over David Hollingsworth (Wartburg) Fall 6:56
- 165 - Nathan Fuller (Wartburg) over Christian Murphy (Johnson & Wales (RI)) Maj 17-6
- 174 - Michael Ross (Johnson & Wales (RI)) over Zane Mulder (Wartburg) Dec 6-2
- 184 - Ryan DeVivo (Johnson & Wales (RI)) over Jordan Bushey (Wartburg) Maj 15-6
- 197 - Massoma Endene (Wartburg) over Dylan Harr (Johnson & Wales (RI)) Dec 5-2
- 285 - Eli Pannell (Wartburg) over Adolfo Betancur (Johnson & Wales (RI)) Dec 4-3
Match #4 1st Place Match
Augsburg defeated Johnson & Wales (RI) 35-8
- 125 - Joziah Fry (Johnson & Wales (RI)) over Derek Steele (Augsburg) TF 22-5
- 133 - Cade Willis (Augsburg) over Christian Rivas (Johnson & Wales (RI)) Dec 7-2
- 141 - Sam Stuhl (Augsburg) over Gabriel Leo-Esparolini (Johnson & Wales (RI)) TF 18-2
- 149 - Charlie Stuhl (Augsburg) over Gabe McDaniel (Johnson & Wales (RI)) Dec 7-1
- 157 - Hayden Brown (Johnson & Wales (RI)) over Tyler Shilson (Augsburg) Dec 5-4
- 165 - Cooper Willis (Augsburg) over Patrick Wisniewski (Johnson & Wales (RI)) Dec 5-2
- 174 - Seth Goetzinger (Augsburg) over Michael Ross (Johnson & Wales (RI)) Fall 5:34
- 184 - Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann (Augsburg) over Ryan DeVivo (Johnson & Wales (RI)) Dec 8-2
- 197 - Parker Venz (Augsburg) over Dylan Harr (Johnson & Wales (RI)) Fall 0:46
- 285 - Tyler Kim (Augsburg) over Adolfo Betancur (Johnson & Wales (RI)) Fall 1:45
