COMPLETE BOUT-BY-BOUT RESULTS
HAMPTON, Va. – The LIU Post wrestling team shined at the Virginia Duals on Friday, Jan. 11 and Saturday, Jan. 12 at the Hampton Coliseum, earning three victories to take third place in the American bracket of the event.
The Pioneers opened the event with a 26-16 victory against Liberty University to advance to the winner's side of the bracket before suffering a late 24-21 setback to Ferrum College in the second match of the event on Sunday. LIU Post bounced back with two convincing victories against Alderson Broaddus University and Liberty to earn the third-place finish.
LIU Post Top Performers
- Graduate student Joe Calderone finished 4-0 at the 141-pound weight class, including two pinfalls, one technical fall, and one major decision. Calderone earned his 100th career victory when he defeated Ferrum College's Mario Vazquez in the second round. He was also named the Outstanding Wrestler for the event.
- Freshman Chris Gomez was a perfect 4-0 at 149 with a technical fall win and three decision victories.
- Senior Dan Arkow added three victories in the 174-pound division, including a major decision victory in the opening match of the event.
- Freshman Brandon Mercado tallied three wins at 125, pinning one opponent and earning one major decision victory.
- Freshman James Langan added three victories at 184, including an 18-second pinfall victory.
Match 1 – LIU Post 26, Liberty University 16
LIU Post opened the event against Liberty on Saturday in the opening round and jumped out to a quick 18-0 lead through four bouts after a major decision victory by Mercado and a technical fall win by Calderone. Liberty got on the scoreboard with consecutive victories at 157 and 165, but Arkow and Langan secured the win for LIU Post with two major decision victories in the next two bouts to give the Pioneers a 26-7 lead with two bouts remaining.
The Flames secured wins in the final two bouts to finish with 16 points, but the Pioneers advanced to the winners' side of the bracket with the 26-16 victory.
Match 2 – LIU Post 21, Ferrum College 24
After the victory in the opening round, the Pioneers earned an evening of rest before taking on Ferrum College Sunday morning in the first match of the winners' bracket. The Panthers grasped a 7-0 advantage early after wins at 125 and 133, but Calderone put LIU Post on the board with a 12-4 major decision victory against Mario Vasquez at 141. Gomez followed suit with a 21-4 technical fall victory at 149 to give LIU Post a narrow 9-7 advantage near the midway point of the match.
Ferrum responded with back-to-back wins at 157 and 165 to earn 11 points and take an 18-9 lead after six bouts. Arkow sparked a three-bout streak for the Pioneers at 174, earning a 6-1 decision victory against Blake Rosenbaum. Langan secured six points with a pinfall victory in just 18 seconds against Braden Homsey to level the scoring at 18-18 with two bouts remaining. Junior
Dan McClure gave the Green and Gold a three-point lead with a victory at 197, but Ferrum came from behind with a pinfall victory in the heavyweight bout to earn the 24-21 victory.
Match 3 – LIU Post 27, Alderson Broaddus University 15
After falling to the opposite side of the bracket with the loss to Ferrum, LIU Post took a 12-3 lead against Alderson Broaddus University through four bouts behind a 47-second pinfall victory by Calderone against Camren Ritchey at 141. Langan helped secure the victory with a win over Tristin Breen at 184 to put LIU Post ahead by 12 points with two bouts remaining. Freshman
Dan Shafran earned a win by forfeit at 197 to put the match out of reach and the Pioneers advanced to the third-place match in a rematch against Liberty.
Match 4 – LIU Post 36, Liberty University 7
It was all LIU Post against the Flames in the third-place match from the very beginning. Mercado started things off with a pinfall victory before the Pioneers earned another six points at 133 by forfeit. Calderone closed out his event with a pinfall victory against Charles Hudson and Gomez and freshman
Ed Ramirez, Jr. follow behind with victories to seal the victory just five bouts into the match when the Green and Gold jumped out to a 27-0 lead.
Arkow, McClure, and Shafran earned wins in their respective bouts as the Pioneers won eight of 10 total bouts during the match to roll to a 36-7 victory.
LIU Post returns to action at the Kutztown University Duals on Friday, Jan. 18 and Saturday, Jan. 19. The Pioneers open the event with a match against Minot State University Friday evening.