Returning to competition for the first time since December 11, the New York University Wrestling team faced four opponents at the Mid-Winter Classic, hosted by the Pennsylvania College of Technology on Saturday, January 15, in Williamsport, PA,

And, the squad didn't skip a beat in winning all four of the matches. They're currently ranked #13 nationally in the National Wrestling Coaches Association's ( NWCA) Dual Team Rankings.

"This team has faced a lot of adversity over the last couple weeks," said Senior Assistant Coach Corey Luce. "We had a few of them bump up weight classes in order to compete today."

The day began successfully with a dominating 41-3 win over the University of Scranton. Costa Moore (Canonsburg, PA/Canon McMillan) (141), Anthony Chavez (Fresno, CA/Central East) (149) and Jason Geyer (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) (174) all recorded falls.

Next up was Muhlenberg College, and the NYU grapplers fell behind 6-3 after the first three bouts. But, five-straight victories ensued, including pins by Chavez, Geyer and Izaake Zuckerman (Fairfield, CT/Fairfield Warde) (184), propelling the team to a 32-12 victory over the Mules.

The winning continued in the third match for NYU...but just barely. In a tight match throughout with Centenary University, it went down to the final bout two bouts before NYU clinched the 27-19 victory. Leading just 21-19, 197-pounder Scott DuPont (Holmdel. NJ/Holmdel) pulled out a sudden victory over Keevon Berry to keep NYU in the lead and then heavyweight David Aranda's (Huntington Beach, CA/St. John Bosco) victory by decision clinched the win. Trent Furman (Washington Township, NJ/Westwood Regional) (165) produced the only fall in the match for NYU.  

Match number four of the Classic saw another one-sided triumph for the New Yorkers, this time besting Elizabethtown College. Chavez, Geyer, Zuckerman and Nick Kruczynski (Natick, MA/Natick) won via fall as NYU ended the day with a 40-9 win.

"These guys showed a lot of heart and grit gutting out these four wins," Luce added.

Zuckerman (#12, 184), Furman (#13, 157) and Geyer (#13, 174) are all also ranked nationally as individuals by the NWCA.
 
With the four victories, NYU now sports an 8-1 dual meet record this season.

The team returns to action on Sunday, January 23, traveling to Wilkes-Barre, PA, for the John Reese Duals at Wilkes University.