Grantham, PA... The College of New Jersey wrestling team earned bonus points in three bouts and won four, but fell in a tight 21-19 dual meet to 15th-ranked Messiah College. The 19th-ranked Lions dropped to 15-5 on the season, while the falcons improved to 15-5.

After falling behind 3-0 early, the Lions jumped out to a 10-3 lead getting a dominant 16-2 major decision from James Goldschmidt (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee). Robert Dinger (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) followed with a pin with just over 30 seconds remaining in the second period.

Following another Falcon decision, Dominic Fano (Montville, NJ/Montville Township) also secured a second round pin staking the Lions a 16-6 advantage.

Messiah fought back, taking four straight bouts, including a pin at 197 to put the Falcons back on top 21-16.

In the heavyweight bout, Kyle Cocozza (Farmingdale, NJ/Howell) nearly turned his opponent for a pin in the final 10 seconds, but had to settle for back points and a decision victory that produced the final score.

The Lions will now turn their focus to the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional, hosted by Ithaca College February 24-25.

125 - Sean Redington (MESS) dec. Jacon Falleni (TCNJ) 10-8                    MESS Leads 3-0
133 - James Goldschmidt (TCNJ) maj dec. Ka'au Estrella (MESS) 16-2       TCNJ Leads 4-3 
141 - Robert Dinger (TCNJ) pin Nick Nunez (MESS) 4:29                             TCNJ Leads 10-3
149 - Stephen Maloney (MESS) dec. Anthony Gagliano (TCNJ) 10-4                   TCNJ Leads 10-6
157 - Dominic Fano (TCNJ) pin Kevin Edwards (MESS) 4:06                       TCNJ Leads 16-6
165 - Jeff Hojnacki (MESS) SV-1 Luke Balina (TCNJ) 6-4                             TCNJ Leads 16-9
174 - Ben Swarr (MESS) dec. Dan Kilroy (TCNJ) 4-2                                    TCNJ Leads 16-12
184 - Victor DeFrance (MESS) dec. Thomas Anderson (TCNJ) 12-8            TCNJ Leads 16-15
197 - Kyle Koser (MESS) pin Pat Schinder (TCNJ) 2:09                                MESS Leads 21-16
HWT - Kyle Cocozza (TCNJ) dec. Jared Schell (MESS) 8-5                          MESS Wins 21-19