Williamsport, PA – The College of New Jersey wrestling team picked up a pair of wins in three matches on Friday as the Lions moved into the second day of competition at the 24^th Annual Budd Whitehill Division III Wrestling Duals. The prestigious event is being hosted by Lycoming College.
 
TCNJ opened the tournament with a 25-12 setback against 25^th-ranked University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point, but bounced back to defeat John Carroll University by that same 25-12 score and capped the day with a 27-12 victory over Trine University.
 
The Lions will be right back on the mat on Saturday taking on 11^th-ranked York (PA) College at 9 a.m. TCNJ, which is ranked 27^th, is now 6-3 in dual meets this season.
 
In the opening match against Stevens Point, the Lions got off to a good start winning three of the first four bouts. Sophomore PJ Schmidt (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown) scored in the final 10 seconds of his bout at 133 pounds to pull out an exciting 4-3 win, while junior Dan Herr (Rockaway, NJ/Morris Knolls) pulled out a narrow 2-1 decision at 141. Senior Chris Lombardi (Merrick, NY/John F. Kennedy) made it three straight wins for TCNJ as he blanked his opponent, 3-0.
 
Senior Mike Denver (Bayville, NJ/Central Regional) picked up the other win for the Lions scoring an 8-1 decision at 184 pounsd. Denver is ranked first nationally in his weight class.
 
The Lions never trailed in the win over John Carroll as they reeled off victories in the first three weight classes. Sophomore Steve Godine (Whippany, NJ/Whippany Park) opened things with a 1-0 win at 125 and Schmidt and Herr added consecutive wins at 133 and 141, respectively, to give TCNJ a 9-0 cushion.
 
Junior John Darling (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown) added a 3-2 win at 157 pounds and Denver pinned his opponent at 184 in 5:37. TCNJ's final win of the match came at heavyweight as Trevor Salvatore (Jefferson, NJ/Jefferson) blanked his opponent 8-0.
 
TCNJ carried that momentum into its match with Trine as overcoming a slim 3-0 deficit after the first bout. Schmidt then put the Lions in front for good with a pin at 133, while Herr followed another pin at 141, quickly extending that lead to 12-3. Both of those Lions were a perfect 3-0 on the day.
 
Lombardi tacked on a win by decision at 149, while Darling nearly pulled off a huge upset at 157 falling to top-ranked Elias Larson, 8-6.
 
TCNJ closed out the match with three straight wins as Denver capped his 3-0 day with a 9-6 decision at 184 and Nathan Leer (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) posted a 5-3 triumph at 197. Salvatore again ended the dual meet with a win recording a pin in 5:35.