ERIE, Pa. – The No. 6-ranked Golden Knights men's wrestling team honored 10 seniors prior to Friday's dual meet against No. 13 Pitt-Johnstown at the newly-named Highmark Events Center but could not overcome six consecutive decisions by the Mountain Cats (from 133 pounds to 174 pounds) and lost the dual, 18-12. Gannon (8-3 overall, 6-1 in conference duals) will now share the 2021-2022 PSAC Dual Meet Championship with the winner of tomorrow's Pitt-Johnstown (12-1, 5-1) vs. No. 19 Mercyhurst (9-2, 5-1) dual.
 
One of the seniors celebrated for his service to the program, 125-pounder Jacob Dunlop (Rostraver Township, Pa./Belle Vernon), opened the night with a victory—and two other seniors, Joel Leise (Transfer, Pa./Reynolds) at 197 pounds and Freddie Nixon (Buffalo, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute) at 285 pounds—both earned decisions at the tail end of the dual. The only other Gannon bout winner was freshman Joey Petrella (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Bishop Hartley) at 184 pounds.
 
In addition to the three upperclassmen mentioned above, the seven additional seniors honored on Senior Night included Deven Abbott (Erie, Pa./Collegiate Academy (Erie)), Evan Fisler (Sewell, N.J./Washington Township), Frank Guzzi (West Homestead, Pa./Steel Valley), Austin Hertel (Rochester, N.Y./Hilton), Charles Maier (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh), Cameron Page (Frewsburg, N.Y./Falconer Central), and Luigi Yates (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep).
 
Dunlop was clearly the aggressor at 125 pounds in his opening bout, nearly completing a couple of shots early on and then earning two third-period points via stalling calls on his opponent Matt Siszka. He added an escape late in the period to earn the 3-1 decision.
 
Then began the UPJ run of victories, nearly interrupted by Hertel at 141 pounds again UPJ's Caleb Morris. Down 3-1 with just seconds remaining in the third period, Hertel used a late burst of energy to take Morris down to his back and collect four total points (the takedown and two near fall.) Morris recovered quickly with a reversal as time ticked away, tying the bout 5-5 to force overtime, and took down Hertel to win 7-5 by sudden victory.
 
The next three bouts were closely contested but ended with Mountain Cat decisions courtesy of Nathan Smith (7-6 decision over Nick Young (Batavia, N.Y./Alexander) at 157 pounds), Dillon Keane (8-6 over Evan Fisler (Sewell, N.J./Washington Township) at 165), and Brock Biddle (14-8 over a very game Frank Guzzi (West Homestead, Pa./Steel Valley), who almost earned a surprise fall with a big move late in the first period.)
 
Petrella righted the ship at 184 pounds over Alex Weber, finally earning a third-period takedown after wearing Weber down and completing the 4-1 decision. Leise's bout at 197 followed almost the same pattern, with repeated shots from Joel finally breaking down Dakoda Rodger's defense and securing the 3-0 win.
 
Nixon put on an entertaining heavyweight bout with UPJ's Oggie Atwood, using his quickness to get great position and almost take Atwood down at the edge of the circle as time ran out in the second period. After a scoreless third period, the two wrestlers battled to overtime, with Nixon again using his quickness and conditioning to perform a quick go-behind for the 3-1 win in sudden victory.
 
The men's "B" team will send a contingent of wrestlers to the John Carroll University Open this Sunday, Feb. 13, in addition to preparing for the NCAA Division II Super Regional on Saturday, Feb. 26 at Pitt-Johnstown.
 
COMPLETE RESULTS
 
Pitt-Johnstown 18, Gannon 12

125        Jacob Dunlop (Rostraver Township, Pa./Belle Vernon) (GU) dec. Matt Siszka (UPJ) (3-1)
133        Mason Myers (UPJ) dec. Chase McLaughlin (Jamestown, Pa./Jamestown Area) (GU) (5-0)
141        Caleb Morris (UPJ) dec. Austin Hertel (Rochester, N.Y./Hilton) (GU) (SV-1 7-5)
149        Jacob Ealy (UPJ) dec. Dom Means (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) (GU) (8-2)
157        Nathan Smith (UPJ) dec. Nick Young (Batavia, N.Y./Alexander) (GU) (7-6)
165        Dillon Keane (UPJ) dec. Evan Fisler (Sewell, N.J./Washington Township) (GU) (8-6)
174        Brock Biddle (UPJ) dec. Frank Guzzi (West Homestead, Pa./Steel Valley) (GU) (14-8)
184        Joey Petrella (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Bishop Hartley) (GU) dec. James Weber (UPJ) (4-1)
197        Joel Leise (Transfer, Pa./Reynolds) (GU) dec. Dakoda Rodger (UPJ) (3-0)
285        Freddie Nixon (Buffalo, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute) (GU) dec. Ogden Atwood (UPJ) (SV-1 3-1)