From NYU Athletics
The New York University wrestling team completed the second and final day of competition at the Citrus Open in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on Wednesday, December 30. NYU placed fifth overall out of 11 teams with 104 points.
Leading the way for the grapplers were sophomore Austin Day and junior captain John Messinger.
Day, a 133-pounder, won his only match on Tuesday by fall over Luke Morales of Cornell College. On Wednesday, the Winter Springs, FL, native defeated Pat Sockler of Muhlenberg College 5-4 in the semifinal to earn a berth in the championship match. Day fell 7-3 to Sam Bennyhoff of Augsburg College, who is ranked #8 at 133-lbs. by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA), and placed second in the weight class.
Messinger posted a 3-1 record over the two days. The Putnam Valley, NY, native went 2-0 on Tuesday with a pair of decisions over Ronny Ponick of Augsburg (8-1) and Michael Maksimo of Cornell (7-3). On Wednesday, Messinger picked up a 13-4 major decision over Josh Ferenczy of Liberty University in the semifinal before falling 5-3 to Tom McNulty of John Carroll University in the final.
"Overall, I'm pleased and I'm looking forwrad to the national duals coming up and putting together our best lineup," said NYU Senior Assistant Coach Corey Luce.
Sophomore Raymond Jazikoff also had a productive day on Wednesday to place third at 157 pounds. The South Plainfield, NJ, native finished the two-day open with a 4-1 record. On Tuesday, Jazikoff picked up a 15-2 major decision over Clint Allen of Cornell and a 4-3 decision over Blake Tisza of Millikin University. Wednesday began with a tough loss to Dan Mirman of John Carroll via a 4-3 decision in the semifinal. Jazikoff bounced back with a pair of major decisions, 15-3 over Kaleb Winebarg of Cornell in the consolation semifinals and 9-1 against Tisza in the third-place match.
"Ray wrestled very tough, like I know he's capable of," continued Luce. "He fell short to a two-time All-American in the semis, but rebounded by blitzing through his next two opponents."
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Sophomore 197-pounder PJ Steinmetz went 3-1 at the competition and placed fourth overall.
- At 149 pounds, NYU grapplers junior Nick Matthews (4-2) and freshman Ian Burke (5-2) placed fourth and fifth, respectively.
- Freshman Manny Ramirez (3-2) placed fifth at 165 pounds.
"Manny showed us that he's capable of wrestling with the best," said Luce. "He needs to work on a few things, but he is progressing."
- Another rookie, Santino Pelusi (3-2), placed seventh at heavyweight.