WAYNESBURG, Pa. — The New Jersey City University men's wrestling team split a pair of matches on the road on Friday afternoon, Jan. 13. The Gothic Knights first went up against McDaniel College but fell to the Green Terror on neutral ground by a score of 39-11. However, NJCU rebounded nicely against host Waynesburg University with a dominant 49-5 victory. Senior captain 149-pounder Jeff Johnson (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex) shined once again on the day, winning his two matches by technical fall and major decision, respectively, to improve to a team-best 14-1 on the season. He is currently ranked #5 by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) among 149-pounders in the Mideast Region and #21 nationally in his weight class by d3wrestle.com.

First up for Jersey City (6-9) was McDaniel (6-7). After a loss at 125 pounds, NJCU picked up the win by forfeit at 133 pounds to take a 6-4 lead. After a tight 12-6 decision loss by freshman Andy Beras (Bergenfield, N.J./Bergenfield) at 141, Johnson put the Gothic Knights back on the board with a 16-0 technical fall win with just over two minutes remaining in his match at 149 pounds to put the Green and Gold up 11-7 at the time. Unfortunately, NJCU would not score any more match points against the Green Terror in the 38-11 loss. Junior 184-pounder Farhan Khan (Carteret, N.J./Carteret)  did have a highly-contested match, as well, but fell by a slim 7-4 decision.

After McDaniel topped Waynesburg (0-8) in the day's second match, 42-12, the Gothic Knights hopped back on the mat to take on the hosting Yellow Jackets in the final tilt of the afternoon. NJCU took the first three weights by forfeit (125, 133 and 141) to jump out to an 18-0 lead before Johnson dominated at 149 to the tune of a 14-1 major decision. After another pair of forfeit wins at 157 and 165, Waynesburg had its only win of the match as #8-ranked Colby Morris earned a technical fall with one minute left in the third. Khan answered immediately with a win by fall just over two minutes into his match at 184 pounds. One more win by forfeit at 197 pounds was followed by the day's final match, which was also the closest of this contest. Junior heavyweight Deren Cercioglu (Totowa, N.J./Paramus Catholic) earned a hard-fought 13-11 decision to close out the day.
 

FULL RESULTS
McDaniel 39, NJCU 11
125: Alex DuFour (M) def. Lucas Torre (Point Pleasant, N.J./Brick Memorial)s (N), maj. dec. (15-4)	McDaniel 4, NJCU 0
133: Jacob Baeza (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) (N) wins by forfeit	NJCU 6, McDaniel 4
141: Ryan Athey (M) def. Andy Beras (Bergenfield, N.J./Bergenfield) (N), dec. (12-6)	McDaniel 7, NJCU 6
149: Jeff Johnson (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex) (N) def. Andre Allen (M), tech. fall (16-0, 4:40)	NJCU 11, McDaniel 7
157: Xavier Howard (M) def. Zack Vera (Livingston, N.J./Livingston) (N), maj. dec. (11-3)	NJCU 11, McDaniel 11
165: Alex LaVeck (M) def. Ty Bailey (Point Pleasant, N.J./Point Pleasant Boro) (N), fall (1:28)	McDaniel 17, NJCU 11
174: Toanna Olympio (M) def. Jaydin Mahon (New Brunswick, N.J./New Brunswick) (N), fall (1:04)	McDaniel 23, NJCU 11
184: Michael Bromley (M) def. Farhan Khan (Carteret, N.J./Carteret) (N), dec. (7-4)	McDaniel 26, NJCU 11
197: Jaedyn Harris (M) def. Marcus Hebron (Middle Township, N.J./) (N), fall (2:45)	McDaniel 32, NJCU 11
HWT: Austin Stewart (M) wins by forfeit	McDaniel 38, NJCU 11
NJCU 49, Waynesburg 5
125: Lucas Torre (Point Pleasant, N.J./Brick Memorial)s (N) wins by forfeit	NJCU 6, Waynesburg 0
133: Jacob Baeza (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) (N) wins by forfeit	NJCU 12, Waynesburg 0
141: Andy Beras (Bergenfield, N.J./Bergenfield) (N) wins by forfeit	NJCU 18, Waynesburg 0
149: Jeff Johnson (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex) (N) def. Seth Evans (W), maj. dec. (14-1)	NJCU 22, Waynesburg 0
157: Zack Vera (Livingston, N.J./Livingston) (N) wins by forfeit	NJCU 28, Waynesburg 0
165: Ryan McGuire (Lodi, N.J./Lodi) (N) wins by forfeit	NJCU 34, Waynesburg 0
174: #8 Colby Morris (W) def. Jazz Bull (New Brunswick, N.J./New Brunswick) (N), tech fall (22-4, 6:00)	NJCU 35, Waynesburg 5
184: Farhan Khan (Carteret, N.J./Carteret) (N) def. Ayden Bishoff (W), fall (2:21)	NJCU 40, Waynesburg 5
197: Marcus Hebron (Middle Township, N.J./) (N) wins by forfeit	NJCU 46, Waynesburg 5
HWT: Deren Cercioglu (Totowa, N.J./Paramus Catholic) (N) def. Luke LaVanway (W), dec. (13-11)	NJCU 49, Waynesburg 5

Up Next:
Jersey City returns to action for its penultimate home dual of the season, a Friday, Jan. 20, primetime match against #16-ranked The College of New Jersey for an in-state Division III rivalry clash. NJCU and the Lions are set to square off at 7:00 p.m. at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC). Tune in live on GothicVision.