EWING, N.J. — No. 17 Averett University men's wrestling faced off in two top-25 matchups on Sunday in a tri-match hosted by The College of New Jersey. Averett fell short 34-6 against No. 5 Johnson & Wales University (R.I.), then lost to host No. 11 TCNJ 37-9.
 
In the opener, Johnson & Wales took eight of the 10 matches in the dual, including a top-five showdown between the Wildcats' two-time defending national champion Joziah Fry and two-time All-American Mason Barrett. Both normally wrestle at 125 pounds but they faced off at 133 pounds on Saturday. Averett two wins against Johnson & Wales came at 174 and 184. Junior Michael Gabbart topped Ian Sutherland 14-7, and regionally ranked junior Nolan Gerwitz beat Ky'ell Roper 11-5.

Averett finished the day with a tough loss to TCNJ. The Cougars' two win came from senior Anthony Taylor at 157 and junior Xavier Swanson at 165. Taylor, who is ranked 13th nationally by The Open Mat and ranked regionally by the NWCA, picked up a 7-3 decision over J.J. Giordano. The regionally ranked Swanson, meanwhile, pinned Nick Acque in the second period for Averett's other win against the Lions.

Averett, ranked No. 17 in the NWCA and No. 25 by The Open Mat in team tournament rankings, now turns its attention to the Petrofes Invitational hosted by Messiah University on Dec. 6-7.



No. 5 Johnson & Wales 34, No. 17 Averett 6
149: Zachary Weiner (JWU) def. Carter Shupert, Dec 8-7
157: Hayden Brown def. Anthony Taylor, MD 21-8
165: Jack Richardson def. Xavier Swanson, TF 18-1 (5:53)
174: Michael Gabbard def. Ian Sutherland, Dec. 14-7
184: Nolan Gerwitz def. Ky'ell Roper, Dec. 11-5
197: Zach Miller def. Jacob Jimenez, Dec. 15-11
285: Adolfo Betancur def. Braeden Fluke, Fall (1:19)
125: Mason Frankin def. Dominic Pascoe, Dec. 5-4
133: Joziah Fry def. Mason Barrett, TF 19-4 (3:30)
141: Cameron Soda def. Mauricio Reyes, TF 20-4 (4:42)

Extra Matches:
141: Noah Krakower (JWU) def. Jackson Higgins (Averett), TF (5:40)
149: Luke Montefusco (JWU) def. Jason Bennett (Averett), Fall (1:58)
197: Logan Reiner (JWU) def. Luke Stump (Averett), TF 19-4 (4:36)
197: Grayson Ringwald (Averett) def. Nate Ickes (JWU), Fall (6:15)
285: Cameron Bailey (JWU) def. Spenser Krawchuk (Averett), Fall (1:36)
149: Alex Driggs (Averett) def. Freedom Excell (JWU), Injury
184: Louis Paradiso (JWU) def. Noah Harris (Averett), Dec. 5-3
285: Cameron Bailey (JWU) def. Johnatan Argueta, Dec. 12-4
285: Nate Ickes (JWU) def. Spenser Krawchuk (Averett), Fall (2:30)
133: Mason Frankling (JWU) def. Trey Ruehl (Averett), Fall (1:05)


No. 11 TCNJ 37, No. 17 Averett 9
197: D.J. Henry (TCNJ) def. Jacob Jimenez (Averett), TF 19-3 (3:59)
285: Matt Coon (TCNJ) def. Braeden Fluke (Averett), Fall (2:46)
125:  Matt Griffin (TCNJ) def. Dominic Pascoe (Averett), TF 19-2 (3:54)
133:  Kyle Nase (TCNJ) def. A.J. Orlando III (Averett), MD 10-1
141: Sam Kotch (TCNJ) def. Wyatt Parker (Averett), MD 13-5
149: Mike Conklin (TCNJ) def. Carter Shupert (Averett), TF 16-0 (3:38)
157: Anthony Taylor (Averett) def. J.J Giordano (TCNJ), Dec. 7-3
165: Xavier Swanson (Averett) def. Nick Acque (TCNJ), Fall (4:02)
174: Hunter Mays (TCNJ) def. Michael Gabbard (Averett), MD 16-5
184: James Romaine (TCNJ) def. Nolan Gerwitz (Averett), MD 14-0

Extra Matches:
149: Gavin Rucci (TCNJ) def. Luke Zadrazil (Averett), Fall (2:40)
174: James Roamine (TCNJ) def. Willie Toliver (Averett), TF 16-0
133: Colin Menier (TCNJ) def. Jesse Lemon (Averett), TF 19-3 (2:07)
133: Luke Reitter (TCNJ) def. Trey Ruehl (Averett), Fall (0:27)
141: Vincent Kain (TCNJ) def. Jake Furman (Averett), Fall (1:15)
149: Ethan Kerlin (TCNJ) def. Alex Driggs (Averett), Fall (5:15)
157: Mike Meissner (TCNJ) def. Jason Bennett, Dec. 7-1
174: Jimmy Dolan (TCNJ) def. Tyler-Nicholas Ritz (Averett), TF 18-1 (4:42)
184: Noah Harris (Averett) def. Isaiah Ruiz (TCNJ), Dec. 10-2
197: Carter Erickson (Averett) def. Bradford Birch (TCNJ), Dec. 7-3
133: Luke Reitter (TCNJ) def. Jesse Lemon (Averett), Fall (2:22)
133: Colin Menier (TCNJ) def. Trey Ruehl (Averett), TF (1:38)
141: Vincent Kain (TCNJ) def. Luke Zadrazil (Averett), Fall (4:45)
141: Ahmed Hussain (TCNJ) def. Jackson Higgins (Averett), MD 15-1
141: Daniel Hong (TCNJ) def. Jake Furman (Averett), Fall (1:45)
149: Ethan Kerlin (TCNJ) def. Jason Bennett (Averett), Fall (0:40)
157: Vincent Genna (TCNJ) def. Alex Driggs (Averett), MD 14-2
184: Jimmy Dolan (TCNJ) def. Luke Stump (Averett), Fall (3:35)
174: Tyler-Nicholas Ritz (Averett) def. Isaiah Ruiz (TCNJ), Dec. 9-2
197: Luke Theis (TCNJ) def. Carter Erickson (Averett), Dec. 5-2
285: Jasiri Dingle (Averett) def. Bradford Birch (TCNJ), Dec. 7-2
174: Jimmy Dolan (TCNJ) def. Willie Toliver (Averett), 18-1 TF (5:08)