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Pioneers lose three, including one match on tiebreaker to Long Island

There is plenty of excitement on the Sacred Heart bench during Saturday’s dual meet with Long Island in Bethlehem, Pa. (Photo courtesy Kristen Bilek Jarosz)

After getting shutout by Army and No. 21 Rutgers in Saturday’s WrangleMania dual meet tournament in Bethelehem, Pa., Sacred Heart came close to earning their first win of the season but dropped a 19-18 decision to Long Island University on a tiebreaker (most pins).

Army blanked Sacred Heart, 39-0 before Rutgers rolled to a 50-0 victory thanks to six pins.

In Sacred Heart’s third and final dual match of the day, Long Island won two of the first matches to take a 6-5 lead. Sacred Heart’s Andrew Fallon (133) earned his first win as a Pioneer with a 24-8 win by technical fall before Long Island’s Devin Matthews (Gilbert/Winsted) put the Sharks ahead by one with a 5-2 win over Sacred Heart’s Seth Brown at 141 pounds.

Sacred Heart’s Matt Laurie (Wethersfield) started a Pioneer winning streak with a 3-1 win over Drew Witham followed by wins by Nick Palumbo (157) and Aiden Zarrella (165) to give the Pioneers a 14-6 lead.

LIU’s T.J. Franden (174) earned a 9-7 win over Sacred Heart’s Ryan Bollentin to cut the Pioneer lead to 14-9. Sacred Heart’s Hunter Perez (184) beat Gavin Claro to extend the lead to 18-9.

But LIU’s John Dusza pinned Nick Copley at 197 and Aeden Begus beat SHU’s Marc Berisha, 9-5, at 285 to tie the match at 18-18. The Sharks won the tiebreaker with more pins in the match. 1-0.

It was the 13th straight loss for the Pioneers, dating back to last season.

In the loss to Army, Fallon (133) and Brown (141) each dropped one-point decisions while Laurie (149) lost by four. Laurie dropped a one-point decision to Rutgers’ Tony White. For Rutgers, it was the most points in a dual meet since they beat the Pioneers, 56-0, in Nov. 2010, in their most recent meeting.

Sacred Heart (0-4) will remain in Bethlehem, Pa., on Sunday and compete in the Journeyman Collegiate Classic that will include four top 25 teams – No. 6 Arizona State, No. 8 N.C. State, No. 14 Lehigh and No. 17 Nebraska.

Long Island’s Devin Matthews, a graduate of Gilbert School in Winsted, went 2-0 on the day with a 7-2 win over Buffalo’s Jack Marlow at 141 pounds.

North Carolina State’s Ryan Jack of Danbury (141) won his two matches for the Wolfpack.


Wrangle Mania
At Bethlehem, Pa.

Army 39, Sacred Heart 0
At Bethlehem, Pa.

125: Ethan Berginc (A) dec. Mike Manta, 17-5
133: Richard Treanor (A) dec. Andrew Fallon, 5-4
141: Mark Montgomery (A) dec. Seth Brown, 4-3
149: Matthew Williams (A) dec. Matt Laurie, 5-1
157: Nathan Lukez (A) dec. Jon Siemsen, 14-5
165: Dalton Harkins (A) tech fall Brandon Teresa, 22-0
174: Ben Pasiuk (A) pin Ryan Bollentino , 0:30
184: Sahm AbulRazzaq (A) dec. Hunter Perez, 17-7
197: Kyle Swartz (A) dec. Nick Copley, 16-5
285: Kade Carlson (A) dec. Marc Berisha, 7-2
Records: Sacred Heart 0-2, Army 1-1

(21) Rutgers 50, Sacred Heart 0
At Bethlehem, Pa.
125: Dylan Shawver (RU) pin Jacob Vanezia, 4:22
133: Joe Heilmann (RU) pin John Lafferty, 3:53
141: Sammy Alvarez (RU) pin Ryan Delpizzol, 1:51
149: Tony White (RU) dec. Matt Laurie, 3-2
157: Al DeSantis (RU) dec. Jonathan Siemsen, 17-4
165: Connor O’Neil (RU) dec. Aiden Zarrella, 10-2
174: Eric Freeman (RU) dec. Ryan Bolletino, 7-2
184: Brian Soldano (RU) pin Owen Ayotte, 1:06
197: Billy Janzer (RU) pin Logan Michael, 2:39
285: John O’Donnell (RU) pin Matthew Walker, 1:09
Records: Sacred Heart 0-3, Rutgers 2-1

Long Island University 19, Sacred Heart 18, tiebreaker
At Bethlehem, Pa.
125: Robbie Sagaris (LIU) dec. Mike Manta, 8-0
133: Andrew Fallon (SH) tech fall Kaelon Francois, 24-8
141: Devin Matthews (LIU) dec. Seth Brown, 5-2
149: Matt Laurie (SH) dec. Drew Witham, 3-1
157: Nick Palumbo (SH) dec. Rhise Royster, 10-4
165: Aiden Zarrella (SH) dec. Aaron Munford, 4-0
174: T.J. Franden (LIU) dec. Ryan Bollentino, 9-7
184: Hunter Perez (SH) dec. Gavin Claro, 19-11
197: John Dusza (LIU) pin Nick Copley, 2:31
285: Aeden Begue (LIU) dec. Marc Berisha, 9-5
NOTE: Long Island wins on tiebreaker, most pins, 1-0
Records: Sacred Heart 0-4, Long Island University 1-1

Other dual meet scores
(6) Arizona State 25, (21) Rutgers 16
(8) North Carolina State 23, (17) Nebraska 10
(8) North Carolina State 32, Lock Haven 4
(14) Lehigh 24, (20) Oklahoma 17
(11) Oklahoma State 25, (14) Lehigh 6
(11) Oklahoma State 30, Bucknell 6
(17) Nebraska 25, Army 9
(20) Oklahoma 28, Buffalo 9
Buffalo 28, Long Island University 6

Buffalo 28, LIU 6
At Bethlehem, Pa.

125: Tristan Daugherty (UB) dec. Robbie Sagaris (LIU), 13-3
133: Mason Bush (UB) dec. Kaelan Francois (LIU), 6-3
141: Devin Matthews (LIU) dec.  Jack Marlow (UB), 7-2
149: Kaleb Burgess (UB) dec. Drew Witham (LIU), 6-3
157: Nick Stampulous (UB) dec. Rhise Royster, 6-5
165: Chase Kranitz (UB) pin Aaron Munford (LIU), 2:11
174: Blake Bahna (LIU) dec. Marcus Petite (UB), 6-4
184: Giuseppe Hoose (UB) dec. Gavin Claro (LIU), 10-4
197: Sam Mitchell (UB) dec. John Dusza (LIU), 7-2
285: Greg Hodulick (UB) dec. Aeden Begue (LIU), 3-1, OT

 

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of Connecticut Wrestling Online. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the Connecticut Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2025 and the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

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