The Hofstra Pride wrestling team earned their second straight match victory on Saturday night, sinking the host Sacred Heart Pioneers, 26-11.
Senior Ryan Burkert helped Hofstra (6-10, 2-4 EIWA) get off to a good start, defeating Sacred Heart’s (5-5, 1-3 EIWA) Paul Klee 10-6 at 157 and giving Hofstra an early 3-0 advantage. Burkert got the nod in place of expected 157 starter Chris Mauriello.
Burkert started at 149 last season and finished with at 10-12 overall record, including a 6-7 mark in dual matches. He went 20-14 at 149 as a sophomore.
Hofstra’s Ricky Stamm beat Sacred Heart’s Brandon Levesque 10-7 at 165, putting the Pride ahead 6-0. The Levittown, NY native is now 14-12 on the season.
Stamm got off to a good start, jumping out to a 2-0 lead following a takedown. Levesque took a 3-2 lead with an escape and a takedown. A pair of takedowns by Levesque gave him a 7-5 lead, but Stamm responded with an escape and a takedown to reclaim an 8-7 lead.
After the Pioneers knotted the contest at six via a Hofstra forfeit at 147 pounds, freshman Trey Rogers edged Sacred Heart’s Kyle Davis 3-2 at 184 pounds. With the win, Rogers improves to 15-16 in his first collegiate wrestling campaign.
Senior Naze Haddad added to Hofstra’s advantage, taking down Robert Heatherman 5-3 in the 197 pounds class and putting the Pride in front 12-6. Haddad improved his season record to 11-12, and 8-8 in dual meets.
Omar Haddad defeated Dante DelBonis 4-0 at 285, expanding Hofstra’s edge to 15-6. Haddad is 10-12 overall this season after going 7-5 last season while wrestling unattached.
Freshman and Dix Hills native Dylan Ryder took down Ryan Burns 6-3 at 125, giving Hofstra an 18-6 lead. Ryder faced an early deficit, as Burns had an early takedown to jump out to an early 2-0 advantage. Ryder responded with a takedown of his own in the final round to come away with a victory. Ryder is now 23-9 overall this season and has been especially dominant in dual meets, compiling a 14-2 dual meet record in his first collegiate season.
Hofstra opened up a 21-6 lead after Jacob Martin knocked off Anthony Petrillo, 13-6, in the 133-pound matchup. Martin improved to 13-14 overall and 5-6 in dual matches.
The Pioneers tried to battle back after Hofstra’s Garrett Lambert dropped his match to Gerald Daly, 22-6, at 141, trimming Hofstra’s lead to 21-11.
Holden Heller helped Hofstra respond, taking down Chris Cornell 22-3 at 141 and clinching the match victory for the Pride. In his freshman season, Heller is now 12-7 and 9-3 in dual matches.
Hofstra will head back to the mats on Sunday, Feb. 10 when they visit Binghamton.
Image Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
