WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — After capturing the first win in program history last weekend, the New Jersey City University men's wrestling team continued its historic stretch as the Gothic Knights were victorious on their final day of competition before the New Wear against Kings College (Pa.). The victory was one of three matches that the squad competed in at the Rennie Rodarmel Allstate Duals, hosted by Lycoming College on Monday, Dec. 20.

In the first match of the day, the squad (2-7) defeated the King's Monarchs (1-11) by a final score of 30-19, thanks in part to another big victory from sophomore Shane Lallkissoon (Manville, N.J./Manville) and a match-sealing performance by senior co-captain Kyle Hillermeier (Howell, N.J./Freehold Township), whose win-by-fall sealed it for the Knights. The Green and Gold had four different wrestlers finish the day with 3-0 records overall.

NJCU had two other matches on the day, both of which were hyper competitive. The Knights fell to host Lycoming (6-0) by a score of 25-19 and were defeated by Pennsylvania College of Technology (2-3) by a score of 29-22, respectively.

In the first match of the day, NJCU was able to put the pressure on early, as the young core of wrestlers came up huge with back-to-back victories to start the match. To lead off the action, the Knights sent out freshman Damienlee Torres (West Orange, N.J./West Orange) and he led the team to a victory at 125 pounds, winning by fall at 1:41 in the first to get the squad ahead of the Monarchs. Fellow freshman Andre Ruiz (Little Ferry, N.J./Ridgefield Park) joined in on the action at 133 pounds, as he captured a technical fall (18-3) to keep the pressure on and momentum in favor of the Knights, putting them up 11-0 early.

After a losses at 141 and 149 pounds to make it 11-7, the Knights went on another run. The veterans on the squad stepped up for NJCU, winning four matches over a five-match stretch to regain the overall lead at 30-13. Junior Jeff Johnson (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex) continued his success by returning to his natural 157-pound weight class and picked up his fourth victory of the season at 157 (fifth overall) with a 12-0 major decision. Junior co-captain Matthew Armamento (Kenilworth, N.J./Roselle Park) also continued his early success and captured his eighth win at 165 (12th overall) by fall at 2:31 in the first.

A Monarch victory in the 174 weight class turned the 184-pound matchup into a must-win for the Knights. Again, Lallkissoon came up with a crucial victory by a thrilling 4-3 decision to separate themselves from Kings College. During the historic win last week, Lallkissoon also came up with a match-turning victory for the Green and Gold. Hillermeier came in to finish the job for the Knights, as he did just that by winning his 197-pound match by fall at 1:35.

In the second matchup of the day against Lycoming, NJCU again started with all the momentum and captured two quick victories by Torres (6-3 dec.) and Ruiz (12-2 maj. dec.) to give the squad the early 7-0 lead. However, the Warriors then went on a run of their own, winning back-to-back matches by decision and fall, respectively, to take the 9-7 lead against NJCU. Again, the veterans came in clutch for the Gothic Knights, as Johnson (2-0 dec.) and Armamento (8-2 dec.) earned their second victories of the day, followed by sophomore Ty Bailey's (Point Pleasant, N.J./Point Pleasant Boro) impressive win-by-fall to regain the 19-9 lead for Jersey City. 

But, in the back and forth affair, the shorthanded Knights lost their last three matches — to by forfeits, unfortunately — to ultimately fall by a final score 25-19.

To end the day, the Knights found themselves again with the early lead, as the freshmen duo of Torres and Ruiz found each found yet another victory. Torres ended his day with a 8-3 decision, followed up by a massive 24-3 technical fall for Ruiz and the pair each ended 3-0 on the day. At this point, NJCU led 8-0. After falling at 141 and 149 pounds and trailing 11-8, Johnson and Armamento also captured victories in their respective weight class and both upperclassman also ended their afternoons going 3-0. Each secured major decisions in their final matches to make it 16-11 in the Gothic Knights' favor. Penn College picked up falls at 174 and 184 to take the 22-16 advantage. Hillermeier came in clutch at 197 with a pin of his own to make it 22-22, but the WIldcats took the heavyweight match via forfeit for the overall win.

Other Notables:
In exhibition action, sophomore 157-pounder Jake Sisk (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) also went 3-0 on the day, picking up a trio of decision victories against opponents from Penn College. Fellow sophomore 157-pounder Abdul Ibraheem (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) went 1-1 with a win by fall.

Up Next:
Coming up next for the Gothic Knights will be some time off, as they do not return to the mat until after the break. NJCU will open up its 2022 portion of the season with the Brockport Tri-Meet, hosted by #15 Brockport College on Jan. 8, at 1:30 p.m. The Knights will also take on Niagara County Community College following their match against nationally ranked Brockport.