J.P. Puca went 4-0 to win the title at 174 pounds (Darl Zehr Photography)
WILKES-BARRE, PA. – Sophomore J.P. Puca (Huntington) finished first at 174 pounds and four other Red Dragons earned runner-up finishes as nationally 11th-ranked Cortland opened the season at the King's College Ned McGinley Invitational.
Cortland finished third in the team standings behind NYU and York College (Pa.). The Red Dragons unofficially finished with 131 points (final team scores were not verified as of Saturday night due to a computer issue). Roger Williams placed fourth and Oneonta was fifth in the 12-school field.
Puca went 4-0 on his way to the 174-pound title. He opened with an 18-3 technical fall, followed by two pins. He won by injury default in the title match.
Senior Josh Antoine (Brooklyn/Grand Street) finished 4-1 with four pins to place second at 125 pounds. Junior Matt Caputo (Stony Point/North Rockland) was second at 149 pounds, senior and nationally fifth-ranked Deuly Espinal (Brooklyn/Grand Street) was second at 184 pounds, and freshman Ryan O'Shea (Levittown/MacArthur) ended second at 285 pounds, all with 3-1 records.
Antoine posted his four pins at 125 versus a wrestler from Wilkes, two from Oneonta, and one from York. He lost to Nick Barbaria of Roger Williams in the title match, 5-4. Caputo opened with a pin in 40 seconds and an 18-0 technical fall at 149. He knocked off nationally fourth-ranked Gregory Warner of York, 5-3 in overtime, in the semifinals, then lost by injury default in the championship match.
Espinal dominated his first three matches at 184 with a 19-3 technical fall and two pins. He was edged in the finals, 5-4, by York's Francis Krauss. O'Shea started his run at 285 with a pin, followed by a pair of 4-2 decisions. He lost in the finals to Stefanos Karpontinis of York, 2-0.
Seniors Greg Chery (Ronkonkoma/Connetquot) and Adrian Berry (Uniondale) also placed for Cortland at the tournament. Chery finished fifth at 157 pounds with a 4-2 record. Berry was sixth at 165 pounds with an official mark of 3-1; he medically forfeited his last two matches.
Cortland heads back to Wilkes-Barre, Pa., next Saturday for the New York/Pennsylvania Duals, hosted by Wilkes University.
KING'S NED McGINLEY INVITATIONAL
Nov. 4, 2017; Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Complete Brackets (PDF)
FINAL TEAM SCORES (unofficial):
1) NYU - 158
2) York (PA) - 146.5
3) Cortland - 131
4) Roger Williams - 127.5
5) Oneonta - 87.5
6) Muhlenberg - 65
7) Camden CC - 52.5
8) Scranton - 44.5
9) Keystone - 39
10) Wilkes - 38.5
11) King's (PA) - 34
12) Penn College - 3
Cortland Match Results
125 pounds
Josh Antoine (4-1) (2nd place)
pinned Kyle Trout (Wilkes), 2:22
pinned Michael Muldoon (Oneonta), time n/a
pinned Michael Savello (Oneonta), time n/a
Semis: pinned Dylan Nuttall (York), 4:35
Finals: lost to Nick Barbaria (Roger Williams), 5-4
Trey LaFlamme (1-2)
dec. Colby Bronzburg (Keystone), 5-1
lost to Dylan Nuttall (York), 4-1
lost to Kyle Trout (Wilkes), 7-3
Kenny Daniels (0-2)
lost to Spencer Reed (Wilkes), Pin, time n/a
lost to Kyle Trout (Wilkes), 16-6
133 pounds
No Cortland entries
141 pounds
Matt Maquet (3-2)
lost to Dante Montanaro (NYU), Pin, time n/a
won by medical forfeit vs. Ricky Riemers (Roger Williams)
pinned David Harris-Norton (York), 2:40
dec. Brock Horton (Wilkes), 8-4
lost to Nick Ciacci (Scranton), 8-4
Dustin Harris (0-2)
lost to Dylan Ebanks (NYU), Pin 1:28
lost to Ahken Chu (Oneonta), 10-2
149 pounds
Matt Caputo (3-1) (2nd place)
pinned Morris Garcia (Scranton), 0:40
tech. fall Vincent Hellthaler (Roger Williams), 18-0, time n/a
Semis: dec. Gregory Warner (York), 5-3 (ot)
Finals: lost to Evan Drill (NYU), injury default
157 pounds
Greg Chery (4-2) (5th place)
pinned Owen Jones (NYU), time n/a
dec. Kye Lynch (York), 4-1
dec. Michael Brown (Wilkes), 2-0
Semis: lost to Raymond Jazikoff (NYU), 8-0
lost to Tyler Gazaway (Roger Williams), 3-1
5th place: won by medical forfeit vs. John Sheedy (Scranton)
Jarrod Mauge (1-2)
pinned Marcus Kassab (Wilkes), time n/a
lost to Eric Hutchinson (York), tech. fall 16-1, time n/a
lost to Vinny DelliGatti (Camden CC), 3-2
165 pounds
Adrian Berry (3-1) (6th place)
pinned Brett McGill (Wilkes), 2:23
won by injury default vs. Joshua Nagle (King's), time n/a
dec. Dylan Schwartz (Muhlenberg), 10-8 (ot)
Semis: lost by injury default to Jackson Drum (York), time n/a
(medically forfeited next two matches)
Matt Davis (0-2)
lost to David Keith (York), 5-4
lost to Jesse Rocco (York), Pin, time n/a
174 pounds
J.P. Puca (4-0) (1st place)
tech. fall Mason Calise (Roger Williams), 18-3, time n/a
pinned Justin Morel (Wilkes), 2:13
Semis: pinned Taylor Shaw (Roger Williams), time n/a
Finals: won by injury default vs. Joseph Sindoni (York), time n/a
Travis Edwards (2-2)
pinned Michael Fernandes (Roger Williams), 4:16
lost to Maykel Dolorit (NYU), 19-7
dec. Jacob Mansman (Oneonta), 8-3
lost to Ryan Marszal (Oneonta), Pin, time n/a
Josh Farrar (1-2)
lost to Joseph Sindoni (York), 2-1
major dec. Corbin White (Wilkes), 11-1
lost to Justin Morel (Wilkes), 11-9
184 pounds
Deuly Espinal (3-1) (2nd place)
tech. fall Michael Cannon (Muhlenberg), 19-3, time n/a
pinned James Geer (York), 3:42
Semis: pinned Lantze Lange (Oneonta), 2:22
Finals: lost to Francis Krauss (York), 5-4
197 pounds
Kevin Morgans (1-2)
major dec. Jared Mooney (Penn College), 13-2
lost to Peter Pjetri (Oneonta), 10-3
lost to Matthew Cosh (York), 4-3
285 pounds
Ryan O'Shea (3-1) (2nd place)
pinned Ralph Bernardo (King's), 1:49
dec. Mark Gillis (Camden CC), 4-2
Semis: dec. John Shorter (York), 4-2
Finals: lost to Stefanos Karpontinis (York), 2-0
