Alex Farenchak vs. Mercyhurst
Bryce Dolak

Men's Wrestling Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Stars Shine as Gannon Sinks Lakers 24-13

ERIE, Pa. – The large crowd that showed up for the renewal of the rivalry on the mat between No. 14 Gannon and No. 18 Mercyhurst at the Highmark Events Center were treated to some outstanding wrestling. On a night that showcased plenty of stars on both teams, it was the Golden Knights who stepped up big, opening PSAC action with a 24-13 triumph over their crosstown rivals.
 
Gannon has now won six of the last seven meetings with the Lakers, with most of those matches being closer than the one that took place on Friday the 13th. The Golden Knights took control of the match as their middle weights dominated. Gannon would win just six of the ten bouts, but three of those wins were by bonus points.
 
The night got underway with Jose Diaz (Valparaiso, Ind./Wheeler) rallying for a 3-2 decision over Billy Smith at 125 lbs. Smith carried a 2-0 lead into the third period thanks to a first-period takedown. Smith would ride Diaz for a good portion of the first following the takedown, but Diaz rode out Smith in the second period. The redshirt senior knotted the match at 2-2 with a takedown 30 seconds into the match and kept Smith on the mat the rest of the period. He would finish with a 1:06 advantage in riding time for the winning point, improving to 4-5 in the process.
 
The first of nine wrestlers ranked either by the NWCA or The Open Mat took the mat at 133 lbs., and Mercyhurst's Eric Bartos showed why he is ranked second by The Open Mat and fifth by the NWCA. Bartos gave the Lakers a 4-3 lead as he won a 20-6 major decision over Chase McLaughlin (Jamestown, Pa./Jamestown Area) (8-9).
 
That lead was short-lived as Gannon took control with four straight wins, three by bonus points. Redshirt sophomore Jimmy Ryan (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) got the run started at 141 lbs. with a come-from-behind 8-6 win in overtime over Jake Niffenegger. In one of several swing matches, Niffenegger (13-5) led 6-2 midway through the second period. A Ryan escape made it 6-3 after two periods, and he added another one to start the third. Ryan would send the match into overtime with a takedown of Niffenegger with just under a minute to go, followed by an impressive job on top to wipe out riding time. Ryan prevailed in a scramble 47 seconds into overtime for the winning takedown to improve to 8-4. He is ranked 19th by The Open Mat.
 
Gannon's powerful trio of Nick Young (Batavia, N.Y./Alexander), Dom Means (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) and Alex Farenchak (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside) followed with a technical fall, a major decision, and a pin as the lead grew to 21-4. Young, a graduate student ranked second by the NWCA and fourth by The Open Mat, got it started with a dominant performance against Mike Zacur at 149 lbs. Zacur actually opened the scoring with a takedown, but it was all Young after that. He led 5-2 after one period with a takedown and two near-fall points, and the lead grew to 12-2 after two periods with a second takedown and four near-fall points. He added four near-fall points with 30 second remaining and with riding time won a 17-2 technical fall. Young is now 18-3.
 
Means followed with an impressive showing against Max Stedeford, who came in with a deceiving 8-10 ledger. Means, a redshirt senior, improved to 17-5 with an 18-7 major decision that featured seven takedowns. He held a slim 3-2 advantage after one period, and just 8-3 after two periods. He would dominate the final two minutes with four takedowns. Means came in ranked eighth by the NWCA and ninth by The Open Mat.
 
Alex Farenchak (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside) took the mat at 165 lbs. for the first time at home since suffering a season-ending injury on the same mat in early February. The graduate student just returned to action a week ago, but showed little rust while improving to 4-0. A pair of takedowns led to a 4-1 lead over Mike Clark after one period, and the lead grew to 10-1 after two with a takedown and four near-fall points. An early third-period takedown had Farenchak in position for a technical fall with the official "holding" four points for the near-fall. Instead, Farenchak pinned Clark at the 5:50 mark. While unranked by the NWCA, he is ranked second according to The Open Mat.
 
Mercyhurst would narrow the gap to 21-7 with a tight 3-2 decision by No. 10/6 Dillon Walker (11-4) over Cole Casilio (Wilcox, Pa./Johnsonburg Area) (5-6) at 174 lbs. Walker led 1-0 after two periods, with Casilio knotting the match with an escape early in the third period. Walker recorded the lone takedown at 1:35, with Casilio quickly escaping. The redshirt freshman was unable to post the upset with a takedown.   
 
Cole Hivnor (Painesville, Ohio/Lake Catholic) wore down Chase Stein for a 5-0 decision at 184 lbs. as Gannon's lead grew to 24-7. Oddly enough, an injury by Hivnor may have played a key role in the redshirt freshman evening his record at 5-5. He suffered an injury midway through the first period, then proceed to ride out Stein after the Laker chose down following the injury. Hivnor scored the first points of the match with a reversal 15 seconds into the second period and proceeded to again keep Stein on the mat the rest of the period. Hivnor added a takedown early in the third period and Stein never got off the mat. When it was all said and done Hivnor owned a dominating six minutes in riding time.
 
While Mercyhurst would claim the final two matches, the marquee match of the evening took place at 197 lbs. and the two nationally-ranked grapplers gave the fans their money's worth. No. 7 Luke McGonigal (14-3) ended up prevailing over Joel Leise (Transfer, Pa./Reynolds) (2-2), who is ranked fifth by The Open Mat and just returned to the lineup a week ago, 3-1 in sudden victory. A Leise escape in the second period made it 1-0, but McGonigal followed suit in the third period. In sudden victory, on two occasions Leise appeared to be in line for the winning takedown, including once when the wrestlers barely went out of bounds. McGonigal finally won out in a scramble with 26 seconds left.  
 
The Lakers wrapped up the night at heavyweight with Hunter Harnish (8-5) edging Eli Reese (Sarver, Pa./Knoch) (10-7) by a 7-4 decision. Reese tied the match at 4-4 with a takedown midway through the third period, but an escape gave Harnish the one-point advantage. Harnish was able to counter a Reese shot in the final seconds for an insurance takedown.
 
Gannon returns to the mat on Wednesday, January 18 with a huge match at Pitt-Johnstown. The Mountain Cats are currently ranked seventh according to the NWCA Top 25.
 
No. 14 GANNON 24, No. 18 MERCYHURST 13
Friday, January 13, 2023
Highmark Events Center
Erie, Pa.
 
125 lbs. – Jose Diaz (Valparaiso, Ind./Wheeler) (GU) dec. Billy Smith (MU), 3-2 (GU leads 3-0)
133 lbs. – No. 5 Eric Bartos (MU) maj. dec. Chase McLaughlin (Jamestown, Pa./Jamestown Area) (GU), 20-6 (MU leads 4-3)
141 lbs. – Jimmy Ryan (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) (GU) dec. Jake Niffenegger (MU), 8-6 sv (GU leads 6-4)
149 lbs. – No. 2 Nick Young (Batavia, N.Y./Alexander) (GU) tech. fall Mike Zacur (MU), 17-2 (7:00) (GU leads 11-4)
157 lbs. – No. 8 Dom Means (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) (GU) maj. dec. Max Stedeford (MU), 18-7 (GU leads 15-4)
165 lbs. – Alex Farenchak (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside) (GU) fall over Mike Clark (MU), 5:50 (GU leads 21-4)
174 lbs. – No. 10 Dillon Walker (MU) dec. Cole Casilio (Wilcox, Pa./Johnsonburg Area) (GU), 3-2 (GU leads 21-7)
184 lbs. – Cole Hivnor (Painesville, Ohio/Lake Catholic) (GU) dec. Chase Stein (MU), 5-0 (GU leads 24-7)
197 lbs. – No. 7 Luke McGonigal (MU) dec. Joel Leise (Transfer, Pa./Reynolds) (GU), 3-1 sv (GU leads 24-10)
Hwt. – Hunter Harnish (MU) dec. Eli Reese (Sarver, Pa./Knoch) (GU), 7-4 (GU leads 24-13)
 
Rankings: NWCA
 
RECORDS:  Gannon 4-4, 1-0 PSAC; Mercyhurst 4-6, 0-1 PSAC    
 
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Players Mentioned

Cole Casilio

Cole Casilio

174
Redshirt Freshman
Alex Farenchak

Alex Farenchak

165
Graduate Student
165
Joel Leise

Joel Leise

197
Redshirt Senior
184/197
Chase McLaughlin

Chase McLaughlin

133
Sophomore
Dom Means

Dom Means

157
Redshirt Senior
149
Eli Reese

Eli Reese

Hwt.
Redshirt Freshman
Jimmy Ryan

Jimmy Ryan

141/149
Redshirt Sophomore
Nick Young

Nick Young

149
Graduate Student
149
Jose Diaz

Jose Diaz

125
Redshirt Senior
Cole Hivnor

Cole Hivnor

184
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Cole Casilio

Cole Casilio

Redshirt Freshman
174
Alex Farenchak

Alex Farenchak

Graduate Student
165
165
Joel Leise

Joel Leise

Redshirt Senior
184/197
197
Chase McLaughlin

Chase McLaughlin

Sophomore
133
Dom Means

Dom Means

Redshirt Senior
149
157
Eli Reese

Eli Reese

Redshirt Freshman
Hwt.
Jimmy Ryan

Jimmy Ryan

Redshirt Sophomore
141/149
Nick Young

Nick Young

Graduate Student
149
149
Jose Diaz

Jose Diaz

Redshirt Senior
125
Cole Hivnor

Cole Hivnor

Freshman
184