Will Conlon gritted out a victory in his fifth-place match at 197 pounds, while Jake Slotnick placed eighth at 165 pounds in the Keystone Classic on Sunday, Nov. 23. The Hofstra University wrestling team placed 11 overall.
Conlon lost his first match of the day 4-2 by decision before beating Dylan Greenstein of Harvard University by technical fall 15-1. Conlon fought through his next two matches, winning 4-1 and 2-1. In his fifth-place match against Martin Cosgrove of the University of Pennsylvania, the two were evenly matched on the scoreboard and both earned points from escapes before the sudden victory overtime. There, Conlon’s offense finally clicked, he earned a takedown and won 4-1. Conlon went 5-1 on his weekend in Pennsylvania.
Slotnick was one of three Hofstra wrestlers to make it to the quarterfinals, as he won his first two matches. Slotnick, falling 9-0 and moving to the consolation bracket, was held scoreless by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University’s Ryan Burton. He then beat Ousmane Duncanson 4-1 with a takedown in overtime, but had a rough match against Ryan Burgos of Edinboro University, losing by technical fall 18-1. In Slotnick’s match for seventh place, he was held scoreless yet again, conceding a takedown, an escape and a point for stalling, falling to Drexel University’s Cody Walsh.
Frank Volpe and Chase Hontz both went 2-2 at 157 pounds. Volpe lost his first match before winning two straight over Chase Burk of Lock Haven University 4-3 and Nick Alvarez of Franklin and Marshall College 6-4. It was the same story for Hontz, who also fell in his first and fourth matches of the day. Hontz earned his first victory by technical fall 18-3, over Harvard’s Wyatt Hepner and beat Drexel’s Gavin Carroll 2-1.
Teague Strobel and Chase Liardi made it to the quarterfinals at 125 pounds and 141 pounds, respectively. Strobel earned a bye and beat Lock Haven University’s Alex Reed by technical fall 17-5 off five takedowns and two escapes. He fell 5-1 against Ayden Smith of Rutgers University and 10-4 against Smith’s teammate Patrick Adams, ending his run. As for Liardi, he also received a bye in the first round and beat Gavin Suica of Edinboro 8-3 with takedowns in the first and third periods. In the quarterfinals, Liardi was held to just one point against Joseph Oliveri of Rutgers, losing by technical fall 16-1. Liardi faced another tough opponent, Virginia Tech’s Drew Gorman, losing by major decision 17-3.
As for the rest of the team, Gauge Shipp went 1-2 at 133 pounds, Tommy Aiello went 0-2 at 125 pounds, Zach Reilley went 0-2 at 149 pounds, Eric Shindel went 0-2 at 165 pounds, Matthew Waddell went 0-2 at 184 pounds and Adrian Sans and Danny Church both went 0-2 at 285 pounds.
The Pride take a brief break before returning home to take on the University of Wisconsin on Dec. 7.
