On Saturday, October 29, the Hofstra wrestling team held wrestle-offs in the David S. Mack Physical Education Center. The twelve matches of the event functioned as a simulated dual between different members of the team and determined the starting lineup for the upcoming season.
“[I am] happy with our depth; our new guys and our freshmen are coming along very fast. Faster than I hoped, and I hoped a lot,” stated head coach Dennis Papadatos. “I want to see how they mesh in, how they contribute; I wanted to see what they’re about with the singlet on and a ref and adversity, and I feel like we were at a good spot.”
Many of the matches were evenly matched, with most lasting all three periods.
Starting the event off with the 125-pound weight class, sophomore Jacob Moon beat fellow sophomore Dylan Acevedo-Switzer in an extremely even matchup. Moon won 3-0 after scoring in the third period.
At 133-pounds, freshman Joe Sparacio took on fellow freshman Alex Turley, winning the match 9-4. Later Sparacio faced Chase Liardi, losing 5-0 to the sophomore who transferred to Hofstra this year from Ohio State University.
Liardi did need to pause a few times to clean off his blood, despite being the winner and dominant throughout the match.
The 141-pound weight class saw freshman Chase Casey take on redshirt sophomore Mario Biancamano. Casey scored early in the match with a takedown followed by near fall points from a cradle, before winning the match 12-0. Later, Casey faced junior Justin Hoyle, losing by pin at 4:05 into the match. Hoyle proved to be dominant in the top position scoring with an assassin and cradle before finishing with a pin.
A complicated situation arose in the 149-pound weight class; initially skipped in the dual order, the loser of the 157-pound matchup took on freshman Greyson Harris to be the starter at 149 pounds. The 157-pound match ended with junior Michael Leandrou beating sophomore Eric Shindel 8-1. Shindel then wrestled Harris, losing again 5-1.
The 165-pound weight class, also done out of order as the last match of the day, saw freshman Jurius Clark face graduate student Brinton Simington, who transferred this year from Lock Haven University and won 6-1.
At 174-pounds, sophomore Matt Rogers, who transferred this year from the U.S. Naval Academy, took on redshirt sophomore Ross McFarland. McFarland, the newly appointed captain, won 11-0.
The 184-pound match found graduate student Jacob Ferreira, who transferred from North Carolina State University, facing sophomore Ericson Velasquez. Velasquez showed improvement from last season before Ferreira ended the match with a trip followed up by a pin at 4:22.
At 197-pounds, sophomore Nikolas Miller took on senior and captain Trey Rogers. The new captain won 16-6 following a dynamic match where he scored several points from takedowns.
The 285-pound weight class found graduate student and co-captain Zachary Knighton-Ward facing freshman Adrian Sans. Knighton-Ward proved to dominate with a winning score of 22-7 at the end of the third period, which would normally be considered a technical fall as he was 15 points ahead of his opponent, but it was considered a major decision as it was the end of the match.
Team captains were announced earlier in the week by the coaching staff who shared that Knighton-Ward, McFarland and Trey Rogers were chosen.
“Whatever you guys’ vote, we feel like we have a strong team culture; who do you want to lead you?” Papadatos said. “[Knighton-Ward, Rogers and McFarland] had 43 of the 46 votes … the guys picked them; I was happy with the choices too.”
The dual ended with Hofstra White earning a 27-19 win over Hofstra Gold. The team will compete in their first official competition of the season on Sunday, Nov. 6, at the Princeton Open.
