Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford wrestling team will compete in KOA Arena for the first time this season on Saturday, as they host the first-ever AMCC Quadmatch.
This is the first-year wrestling has been sponsored by the AMCC. The AMCC began sponsoring the sport after Hiram was added to the conference as an affiliate member. There are four teams competing in the AMCC, Pitt-Bradford, Alfred State, Hiram and Penn State-Behrend.
Pitt-Bradford has gotten off to an improved start this season, winning 2 dual matches in the early-season competition. They picked up a 44-6 win over Penn State-Behrend and defeated Keystone 37-5 at the Lycoming Duals. The team has been energized by a large group of freshmen that have picked up 55 wins so far this season. D.J. Slovick leads the team with 13 wins while wrestling at three different weight classes. He has pinned seven opponents while winning one bout by major decision and two by tech fall. Cameron Carter-Green has won 10 of 16 matches, while Raymond Worsen III also has 10 wins. Upperclassmen Nathan Powley, Eli Hernandez and Colton Gietler have added vital experience to the roster, while also adding 12 wins between them.
Alfred State College is coming off a very productive semester. With a lot of early season success, the Ox Gang will look to continue to gain momentum this season. The Pioneers have had solid production from their entire lineup. Some standouts include Sean Malenfant, Justin Smith, and Evan Albrecht. Malenfant is the Pioneers' pin leader with 11, Smith has seven total pins and heavyweight Albrecht has five pins so far this year. Sean Peterson, along with Malenfant, have both cracked The Open Mat DIII National Rankings. Both are ranked #20 for their weight classes. The Pioneers are 6-1 in duals so far this season.
Hiram College is 1-3 in dual meets and has participated in four different invitational events to begin its 2022-23 season. The Terriers notably finished 10th out of 14 teams at the Washington & Jefferson Invitational on Nov. 12 before beating Penn State Behrend (35-14) in a dual meet on Dec. 10. Alex Savering has wrestled at the 141-lb and 149-lb weight classes in his junior season. He has won all three of his matches in dual meets this season. Sophomore Kaelon Lawson-West is also off to a strong start in dual meets, winning two of his first three matches by major decision. The Terriers are coming off a loss to Muskingum on Friday, Dec. 16 (31-18) in what was their third dual inside Price Gymnasium since the men's wrestling program was re-established in 2019 for the 2020-21 season. Senior Devan Welch highlighted the evening with a pin in the 285-lb weight class.
The Penn State Behrend Lions wrestling team heads into the season under the direction of first-year head coach Caleb Garvey. Sophomore Kyle Trim leads the team with a 9-4 overall record. The heavyweight also leads with six pinfalls. Freshman Zach Dellinger is second with five wins, including two pins and one technical fall at 125.
The quad meet will consist of two mats, with all four teams competing simultaneously. The action is scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m. Match-by-match results can be found on the AMCC Quadmatch website, here, and links for live video feeds at each mat can be found on the Pitt-Bradford athletics website.
