Pioneers Split The First Day Of The NWCA National Duals
Cedar Falls, IA- Alfred State Men's Wrestling split the opening day of the NWCA National Duals. They fell to Loras 23-18 in the prelims, before taking down Aurora 24-22.
Aurora 24-22
The Spartans took the 125 match, before Elijah Moshenek notched a 5-0 decision win over Tyler Evitts in the 133 match. With the score 0-0 going into the third period, Moshenek took the lead with an escape followed by a takedown in the closing seconds of the match. He also received a riding time point. Aurora won the next two bouts to take the 14-3 lead. Benjamin Rivera and Justin Smith tallied wins to make it a 14-12 dual score. In the 157 match, Rivera got the fall over Jeff Sorich in 2:04. Then in the 165 bout, Smith tallied a 9-6 decision win over Emanuel Diaz. AU took the 174 match, before the Pioneers notched back-to-back first period falls to take the lead. Brent Perry took the 184 match over Kyus Root in 2:21, and Sean Malenfant notched his fall in 1:55 over Angel Jaimes. Malenfant's fall gave the Pios a 24-19 lead heading into the final match of the dual. The Spartans tallied a win by decision in the 285 match, but the Pioneers hung on to win their first dual of the new year.
Loras 23-18
The Pioneers tallied four wins in the dual against Loras. In the 133 match, Zach Levey notched a 13-1 major decision over Aiden Evans. In that match, Levey tallied three takedowns, a reversal, a penalty point, and the riding time point. Dominick Vinci followed with an 11-3 major decision over Kolten Crawford in the 141 match. Vinci notched a takedown in each period, along with an escape and a riding time point in the final period. Malenfant also tallied a major decision win, in the 184 match against Kam Royster. Malenfant opened with a takedown and a four-point near-fall in the first period. He followed with a takedown in the second and third periods to take the match. Nick Barrett got the final win on the dual in the 285 bout. Barrett secured a fall win after getting a takedown and four point near-fall the first and second periods.
