Men’s Wrestling splits tri-meet

PEMBROKE – The University of Mount Olive men’s wrestling team split a pair of South Atlantic Conference Carolinas dual meets on Feb. 4 after facing No. 18 ranked UNC-Pembroke and Emory & Henry.

With the split, the Trojans moved to 12-5 this season with a 6-3 mark in league action. Team scores for the meet were No. 18 UNC-Pembroke over Emory & Henry, 54-3; Mount Olive over Emory & Henry, 54-0 and No. 18 UNC-Pembroke over Mount Olive, 28-15.

Against Emory & Henry, sophomore Lens Mathurin at 125 registered the opening win of the dual meet with a pin before both sides forfeited the 133 weight class. Sophomore Isaiah Olive (141) won by forfeit, and Dallas Wilson followed with a victory via fall. Senior Tyler Vinson added to the lead with a pin in the 157 weight class before sophomore Jake Nicolosi (165) also recorded a win via fall. At 174, redshirt senior Dimitri Naimi posted a victory by fall, while redshirt sophomore Devin McCorkle received a forfeit in the 184 weight class. Sophomore Jonathan Clack (197) delivered a victory by pin before redshirt senior Nico Ramirez won via forfeit at heavyweight.

Against UNC-Pembroke, Mathurin secured his second win of the day with a 20-4 technical fall to give UMO a 5-0 advantage after the initial match. The Braves responded by receiving the maximum points with a forfeit at 133 before registering a fall in the 141-weight class to lead 12-6. Wilson (149) posted a massive win over No. 11 individually ranked Jake Piccirilli by a 4-0 decision to cut the deficit to 12-8 before UNCP countered with a pin at 165. Redshirt junior Michael Vernagallo closed the gap following an 18-4 major decision in the 165 weight class to cut the lead to 18-12. The Braves managed the secure the win behind three straight wins at 174, 184 and 197 before Ramirez battled to a victory by a 10-4 decision in the 285 weight class to make the final score 28-15.

— From University of Mount Olive Athletics