Jose Diaz vs UPJ

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

Golden Knights Take No. 11 Pitt-Johnstown Down to the Wire Before Falling 17-15

ERIE, Pa. – In all likelihood Saturday's Gannon-Pitt-Johnstown wrestling match was for the PSAC championship. Both teams came in riding impressive winning streaks, with Gannon winning its last seven matches and UPJ eight straight following a victory over Mercyhurst on Friday night.
 
The match lived up to its advanced billing, but at the end of the day the Golden Knights were unable to upset a Mountain Cats team that came in ranked 11th in the latest NWCA rankings. The see-saw match saw Gannon win the first two matches for an early lead, only to see UPJ run off wins in the three bouts for an 11-6 lead, only to see the Golden Knights win three straight to jump on top 15-11. But UPJ came in with a stacked lineup at the upper weights and would prevail 17-15.
 
Gannon is now 8-2 overall and suffered its first loss in PSAC action at 5-1 with one dual remaining at Mercyhurst on Friday, February 16. UPJ improved to 14-2 and is 6-0 in league action with a match vs. Shippensburg remaining.
 
No. 10/13 Jose Diaz (Valparaiso, Ind./Wheeler) gave Gannon an early lead with a 6-5 decision over Trevon Gray, who came in ranked 15th by The Open Mat. Diaz improved to 18-4 thanks to the riding time advantage. He led 3-1 after one period but a takedown by Gray late in the second period left Diaz trailing 5-3. A Diaz reversal less than twenty seconds left the Gannon redshirt senior on top and he ended with a 1:24 riding time advantage.
 
Jerry Echevarria (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) (21-5) followed with a 7-0 decision over Bryson Daubert at 133 lbs. Following a scoreless first period the redshirt sophomore reversed Daubert to lead 2-0 after two periods. He added a late takedown in the third period.
 
UPJ ran off wins in the next three bouts, two by major decisions. Mason Myers won a major over Caleb Chaves (Odenton, Md./Arundel) (14-9) at 141 lbs. by an 11-0 score. Three-time All-American and third-ranked Jacob Ealy won an 11-1 major decision over Jimmy Ryan (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) (16-5), who was ranked 20th at 149 lbs. by The Open Mat, and Cooper Warshel extended UPJ's lead with a 5-0 decision over Ethan Richner (Bellefonte, Pa./Bellefonte Area High) (14-6) at 157 lbs.
 
Back came the Golden Knights with decisions at 165, 174 and 184 lbs. Nick Coreno (Willoughby, Ohio/Lake Catholic), ranked eighth by The Open Mat and 11th by the NWCA, was impressive in a 5-2 decision over UPJ's Dillon Keane. Scoreless after one period, Coreno used an escape and takedown for a 4-0 lead after two periods. He would give up a reversal less than 30 seconds into the period but quickly escaped for the final points. Coreno improved to 21-5.
 
Cole Hivnor (Painesville, Ohio/Lake Catholic) followed with a 4-1 decision over Tony Salopek at 174 lbs. to improve to 17-5. He registered the lone takedown of the match a minute into the first period, and added an escape late in the second period.
 
Cole Casilio (Wilcox, Pa./Johnsonburg Area) gave Gannon a 15-11 lead with an 8-2 decision over Noah Gnibus at 184 lbs. While improving to 18-8, Casilio jumped ahead 3-1 with a first-period takedown and added a second takedown in the second period to lead 7-1. He owned over a minute of riding time. Casilio came in ranked 14th by The Open Mat.  
 
First-year head coach Tom Boyd was well aware that UPJ had a pair of top five wrestlers at 197 lbs. and heavyweight. He sent out Andrijo Ivanovic (12-7) to face No. 5 Dakoda Rodgers at 197 lbs. The redshirt freshman from Germany battled Rodgers throughout but dropped a 5-1 decision as UPJ pulled to within 15-14.      
 
That left the match in the hands of heavyweights Matt Long (Corry, Pa./Union City) and UPJ's Isaiah Vance, who came in ranked second by The Open Mat and third by the NWCA. Vance took the lead with a takedown 30 seconds into the match and rode Long the rest of the period. Long answered with a takedown in the second period to knot the score at 3-3 but Vance quickly escaped. Vance was awarded an escape to start the third and each wrestler gained a penalty point with Vance prevailing 6-4.
 
No. 11 Pitt-Johnstown 17, Gannon 15
Saturday, February 10, 2024
Recreation & Wellness Center
Erie, Pa.
 
125 lbs. – No. 10/13 Jose Diaz (Valparaiso, Ind./Wheeler) (GU) dec. NR/No. 15 Trevon Gray (UPJ) -- 6-5 (GU leads 3-0)
133 lbs. – No. 8/7 Jerry Echevarria (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) (GU) dec. Bryson Daubert (UPJ) – 7-0 (GU leads 6-0)
141 lbs. – Mason Myers (UPJ) maj. dec. Caleb Chaves (Odenton, Md./Arundel) (GU) – 11-0 (GU leads 6-4)
149 lbs. – No. 3/6 Jacob Ealy (UPJ) maj. dec. NR/No. 19 Jimmy Ryan (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) (GU) – 11-1 (UPJ leads 8-6)
157 lbs. – Cooper Warshel (UPJ) dec. Ethan Richner (Bellefonte, Pa./Bellefonte Area High) (GU) – 5-0 (UPJ leads 11-6)
165 lbs. – No. 11/8 Nick Coreno (Willoughby, Ohio/Lake Catholic) (GU) dec. Dillon Keane (UPJ) – 5-2 (UPJ leads 11-9)
174 lbs. -- Cole Hivnor (Painesville, Ohio/Lake Catholic) (GU) dec. Tony Salopek (UPJ) – 4-1 (GU leads 12-11)
184 lbs. – NR/No. 14 Cole Casilio (Wilcox, Pa./Johnsonburg Area) (GU) dec. Noah Gnibus (UPJ) – 8-2 (GU leads 15-11)
197 lbs. – No. 5/5 Dakoda Rodgers (UPJ) dec. Andrija Ivanovic (Tuttlingen, Germany/Otto Hahn Gymnasium) (GU) – 5-1 (GU leads 15-14)
Hwt. – No. 3/2 Isaiah Vance (UPJ) dec. Matt Long (Corry, Pa./Union City) (GU) – 6-4 (UPJ wins 17-15)
 
RANKINGS:  NWCA / The Open Mat
RECORDS:  Gannon 8-2, 5-1 PSAC; Pitt-Johnstown 14-2, 6-0 PSAC 
 
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Players Mentioned

Cole Casilio

Cole Casilio

174
Redshirt Sophomore
Caleb Chaves

Caleb Chaves

141/149
Redshirt Sophomore
Nick Coreno

Nick Coreno

165
Senior
Jose Diaz

Jose Diaz

125
Graduate Student
Cole Hivnor

Cole Hivnor

184
Redshirt Sophomore
Andrija Ivanovic

Andrija Ivanovic

197
Redshirt Freshman
Matt Long

Matt Long

Hwt.
Redshirt Junior
Ethan Richner

Ethan Richner

157
Redshirt Sophomore
Jimmy Ryan

Jimmy Ryan

149
Redshirt Junior
Jerry Echevarria

Jerry Echevarria

133
Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Cole Casilio

Cole Casilio

Redshirt Sophomore
174
Caleb Chaves

Caleb Chaves

Redshirt Sophomore
141/149
Nick Coreno

Nick Coreno

Senior
165
Jose Diaz

Jose Diaz

Graduate Student
125
Cole Hivnor

Cole Hivnor

Redshirt Sophomore
184
Andrija Ivanovic

Andrija Ivanovic

Redshirt Freshman
197
Matt Long

Matt Long

Redshirt Junior
Hwt.
Ethan Richner

Ethan Richner

Redshirt Sophomore
157
Jimmy Ryan

Jimmy Ryan

Redshirt Junior
149
Jerry Echevarria

Jerry Echevarria

Redshirt Sophomore
133