The Hofstra’s wrestling team had their first competition of the season on Sunday, Nov. 6, at the Princeton Open. The team for the competition consisted of 13 wrestlers, none of whom are projected to be starters this season.
Freshman Joe Sparacio impressed with his debut in the 133-pound weight class; beating Presbyterian College’s Ryan Luna in a 7-5 decision, followed by a win over Rutgers University’s Nico Messina with a 13-3 major decision and finally finishing his semifinals match by beating Rider University’s D’amani Almodovar in a 3-1 decision. In the finals, Sparacio faced Lock Haven University’s Gable Strickland. At one point during the match, Hofstra head coach Dennis Papadatos disagreed with a call, but the scoreboard remained unchanged with Sparacio placing second overall as the match ended in a major decision loss of 11-2.
At the 197-pound weight class, the team saw its next highest placer with sophomore Nikolas Miller who placed fourth. Miller had a bye that pushed him directly into the quarterfinals where he faced Lock Haven’s Kaleb Snodgrass, winning with a 5-2 decision. Next, Miller took on home team Princeton University’s Luke Stout. After losing in a major decision of 14-4, Miller wrestled for third place against Stout’s teammate, Aidan Conner. The match ended with Princeton winning by a technical fall 15-0.
The team had several members who won a match. Freshman Alex Turley beat Emmanuel College’s Deven Perez in 14-4 major decision and sophomore Dylan Acevedo-Switzer faced Perez’s teammate, Eli Holton, winning with a pin at 2:50. Freshman Jurius Clark faced Princeton’s Nathaniel Stefanik, beating the member of the home team with a pin at 4:18, while freshman Greyson Harris beat Lehigh University’s Steven Strom with a fall at 4:31.
As a reminder of how dangerous the sport can be, Harris’ day came to end after he appeared to pass out briefly before being taken away to follow concussion protocol during his third match against George Mason University’s Nate Higley. Harris walked off the mat, but the extent of the injury is still unknown. He was not the only member of the team to face injury, as Acevedo-Switzer had his entire forehead wrapped after a match early in the day.
With it being the first event of the season, some members of the team were still adjusting: Freshmen Adrian Sans and Chase Casey, along with sophomores Eric Shindel, Ericson Velasquez and Mario Biancamano (red-shirt sophomore), all failed to win a match, instead losing two matches in a row, ending their competition for the day.
The event overall proved an exciting start to the season. Many of the team members’ families were in attendance to watch their sons, some of whom had their first college matches. Princeton’s Jadwin Gymnasium hosted the event and had an energetic crowd who cheered and booed often throughout the day.
Additionally, the event also hosted a women’s tournament where over 100 women competed alongside the men on three of the ten mats. Several teams had both men and women competing, including Emmanuel, Lehigh, Lock Haven, Presbyterian, Princeton, Rider and Rutgers. Women’s wrestling was added to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women Program in June 2020.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
