CASTLETON, Vt. — The New Jersey City University men's wrestling team competed in a pair of dual matches on the road today, Saturday, Jan. 15, against New England College and the host team, Castleton University. In a down-to-the-wire match, NJCU captured their first victory of the new year, defeating New England College 24-22 to start the morning. NJCU had five different wrestlers record a win in the victory. The Green and Gold ultimately fell to Castleton 38-3 during the second matchup of the day.

After back-to-back defeats (125,133), the Gothic Knights got on the board, following freshman Dom Merola's (East Hanover, N.J./Hanover Park Regional) notched pin (6:21) at 141 pounds. In the back-and-forth battle, the Red and Blue of Castleton captured a fall victory at 149 pounds to regain the lead.

Jersey City turned to its junior standout Jeff Johnson (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex) at 157 pounds as he delivered a victory for the squad by decision, 7-2. This win put the Green and Gold back into the lead with five matches remaining in the battle. 

NJCU trailed the Red and Blue, 16-9, after a defeat in the 165 pound clash. Sophomore Ty Bailey (Point Pleasant, N.J./Point Pleasant Boro) stepped up big for the Gothic Knights, capturing a victory at 174 pounds, keeping the striking distance at only three points. This was the sixth overall victory for Bailey so far this season. 

A forfeit by Castleton at 184 pounds gave sophomore Shane Lallkissoon (Manville, N.J./Manville) his seventh victory of the year and allowed NJCU to regain the lead, 19-16.

Following his performance of the year on Wednesday, senior captain Kyle Hillermeier (Howell, N.J./Freehold Township) added another victory to his resume following a defeat against Nathaniel Philion, 18-3 TF. This was the clinching victory for NJCU to secure their first win of the 2022 calendar year. Hillermeier now trails fellow junior captain Matthew Armamento (Kenilworth, N.J./Roselle Park) with 9 victories in the season – Armamento currently holds the record with 14.

In the second matchup of the day, Johnson was the sole Gothic Knight to record a victory in the match. This was a very impressive victory for Johnson, as he defeated the number two ranked, 165 pound wrestler Michael Angers. The junior defeated Angers by a final score of 6-5 decision, respectively. Johnson continued his stand-out performance with a pin victory (2:23) in an exhibition matchup at 157 pounds against Jacob Caricato, moving him to 3-0 on the day. Sophomore Abdul Ibraheem (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) also recorded his third victory on the season in the 149 pound division after defeating Kaden Gransbury by pin (4:34). 
 
What's Next:
Jersey City will travel to Ewing, N.J., to match-up against the Lions of #12 The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) on Friday, Jan. 21.