EWING, N.J. – The No. 19 TCNJ wrestling team capped a high-energy tri-match with a convincing rout of No. 17 Averett on Saturday afternoon, just removed from a nail-biting one-point loss to fourth-ranked Johnson & Wales that was decided by the slimmest of margins.
 
Kyle Nase (133), Mike Conklin (149), Hunter Mays (174), and D.J. Henry (197) each went 2-0 on the day for the Lions, who took the Wildcats down to the wire in a 24-23 defeat before dispatching Averett with ease, 37-9. Conklin produced a pair of tech falls, Nase and Mays had a tech fall and a major apiece, and Henry notched two majors.
 
JWU 24, TCNJ 23
Only one point – and one second, as it turned out – separated the Lions from the unbeaten Wildcats, who came in at No. 4 in the latest NWCA tournament rankings. Starting at 184, TCNJ jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead behind a tech fall from No. 10 Alex Strashinsky and a 17-3 major from Henry, who fell one point shy of his own tech fall.
 
JWU (5-0) responded with back-to-back pins at 285 and 125, setting the stage for a dramatic see-saw affair that saw five lead changes.
 
Nase gave TCNJ the upper hand again with a 16-1 tech fall at 133, but back came the Wildcats with No. 4 Cameron Soda's 4-0 decision over No. 15 Sam Kotch in a battle of nationally ranked wrestlers at 141.
 
The Lions took the lead for the last time at 19-15 as No. 14 Conklin handled Jake Eckerle, 20-4, at 149. The drama ratchetted up even further at 157, where Hayden Brown held an 8-1 lead late in the third period. A clock malfunction put some uncertainty on Brown's riding time, which was eventually ruled to be 46 seconds, with 14 ticks left on the timer. Brown rode out the remainder, and the 1:00 exact riding time total gave him a 9-1 major decision and left the teams level at 19-19.
 
Jake Richardson's tech fall at 165 gave the Wildcats a 24-19 lead, leaving Mays needing a pin to give the Lions an outright win. Mays, newly ranked nationally at No. 15, dominated Michael Schliem at 174, but settled for a 17-6 major decision as JWU escaped with a one-point victory.
 
TCNJ 37, Averett 9
The Lions shook off the heartbreaker immediately, getting six consecutive wins with bonus points to open their match with 17^th-ranked Averett.
 
Henry dominated Jacob Jiminez, 19-3, at 197, and Matt Coon pinned Braeden Fluke late in the first period at heavyweight.
 
Matthew Griffin needed less than a period-and-a-half to dispatch Dominic Pascoe with a 19-2 tech fall at 125, with Nase notching a 10-1 major against A.J. Orlando III at 133 to extend the advantage to 20-0.
 
The lead ballooned to as much as 29-0 as Kotch scored a 13-5 major over Wyatt Parker at 141 and Conklin blanked Carter Shupert, 16-0, at 149 for his second tech fall of the day.
 
Averett won at 157 and 165, but TCNJ finished strong when Mays ousted Michael Gabbard, 16-5, at 174 and James Romaine shut out Nolan Gerwitz, 14-0, at 184.
 
The Lions head to York for the New Standard Invitational on December 6 and 7.
 
 Johnson & Wales 24, TCNJ 23
184 – #10 Alex Strashinsky (TCNJ) tech fall Ky'ell Roper, 18-2 (6:43) (5-0)
197 – D.J. Henry (TCNJ) maj. dec. Zach Miller, 17-3 (9-0)
285 – #11 Adolfo Betancur pinned Matt Coon (4:30) (9-6)
125 – #1 Joziah Fry (JWU) pinned #7 Matthew Griffin (6:20) (9-12)
133 – Kyle Nase (TCNJ) tech fall Matthew Frueh, 16-1 (7:00) (14-12)
141 – #4 Cameron Soda (JWU) dec. #15 Sam Kotch, 4-0 (14-15)
149 – #14 Mike Conklin (TCNJ) tech fall Jake Eckerle, 20-4 (5:53) (19-15)
157 – #5 Hayden Brown (JWU) maj. dec. J.J. Giordano, 9-1 (19-19)
165 – Jack Richardson (JWU) tech fall Nick Acque, 18-1 (3:15 (19-24)
174 – #15 Hunter Mays (TCNJ) maj. dec. Michael Schliem, 17-6 (23-24)
 
TCNJ 37, Averett 9
197 – D.J. Henry (TCNJ) tech fall Jacob Jiminez, 19-3 (3:59) (5-0)
285 – Matt Coon (TCNJ) pinned Braeden Fluke (2:46) (11-0)
125 – #7 Matthew Griffin (TCNJ) tech fall Dominic Pascoe, 19-2 (3:54) (16-0)
133 – Kyle Nase (TCNJ) maj. dec. A.J. Orlando III, 10-1 (20-0)
141 – #15 Sam Kotch (TCNJ) maj. dec. Wyatt Parker, 13-5 (24-0)
149 – #14 Mike Conklin (TCNJ) tech fall Carter Shupert, 16-0 (3:38) (29-0)
157 – Anthony Taylor (AU) dec. J.J Giordano, 7-3 (29-3)
165 – Xavier Swanson (AU) pinned Nick Acque (4:02) (29-9)
174 – #15 Hunter Mays (TCNJ) maj. dec. Michael Gabbard, 16-5 (33-9)
184 – James Romaine (TCNJ) maj. dec. Nolan Gerwitz, 14-0 (37-9)