JERSEY CITY, N.J. — In the wake of a near-upset victory over perennial NCAA Division III power SUNY Cortland, the New Jersey City University men's wrestling squad left no doubt on Friday evening, Feb. 11, as to who the stronger team on the mat was. The Gothic Knights hosted Hunter College at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC) and picked up the first-ever home victory in program history, a dominant 42-13 thrashing of the visiting Hawks.

NJCU (4-12) took down Hunter (0-8) thanks to a collection of four falls and three wins by forfeit to earn its 42 points. The squad also picked up a pair of exhibition victories at the end of the night with some additional strong performances.

Things got started at 125 pounds as red-hot freshman Damienlee Torres (West Orange, N.J./West Orange) took control of the mat right off the bat. After a pair of takedowns in the first period, Torres notched the first win of the day with a win by fall at 4:08 to make it 6-0 early as he improved to 7-3 on the season.

After a win-by-forfeit at 133 pounds for NJCU, Hunter nabbed its first points of the day with a last-second win via a 4-3 decision at 141 points thanks to a buzzer-beating takedown at the end of the third period. Looking to shake it off, freshman 149-pounder Mikey Cross (Union, N.J./Union) stepped on the mat. The rookie entered the evening still in search of his first-collegiate victory, however it did not take long for him to break that spell. Just 29 seconds into the first period, Cross took down his Hawks' opponent and then, nine seconds later, secured the pin and his first win of the season.

Junior Jeff Johnson (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex) was next up for the Gothic Knights at 157 pounds and, as he has been doing so of late, made quick work of his opponent to improve to 13-5 on the season with a win by fall with 12 seconds remaining in the first period. Now leading 24-3, Jersey City needed just one more victory to officially lock in the first-ever home win in program history.

Enter junior co-captain Matthew Armamento (Kenilworth, N.J./Roselle Park). The 165-pounder dominated his Hawks foe from beginning to end and, with time winding down in the third period, he finally wore down his opponent and managed to secure a late win-by-fall at 6:07 to make it an insurmountable 30-3. NJCU picked up two more wins by forfeit over the final four to seal it at 42-13.

In exhibition action, sophomore 125-pounder George Rivera (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck) took down his opponent just 15 seconds in and over a minute later, had finally wore him down to the tune of a win-by-fall at 2:39 in the first period. The other victorious Gothic Knight in the exhibitions was sophomore Shane Lallkissoon (Manville, N.J./Manville). He had already earned one win by forfeit at 174 in the official match, though looking to wrestle, bumped up to 184 for this one. He and his Hawks counterpart battled throughout the entirety of the match and ultimately, Lallkissoon fought off a last-second takedown attempt to hold on for the 5-3 decision.

Up Next:
With the regular-season concluded, the Gothic Knights will next compete in the NCAA Division III Men's Wrestling Regional Championships from Friday-Sunday, Feb. 25-28. The top three wrestlers in each weight class in each of the six regions advance to nationals on March 11-12 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where the top 18 wrestlers in each weight class compete for a top-eight spot in their respective division, which equates to All-America honors.