ITHACA, N.Y. – The New Jersey City University (NJCU) men's wrestling team competed at the NCAA Division III Region II tournament, hosted by Ithaca College, on Friday, February 27.

Three Gothic Knights advanced to day two with a chance to place at regionals.

Senior Lucas Torre (Point Pleasant, N.J./Brick Memorial) (32-5) and sophomore Dominic Terracciano (Keansburg, N.J./Keansburg) (22-6) advanced to the semifinals in their respective weight classes. Terracciano, wrestling at 125 pounds, recorded back-to-back pins in 33 and 53 seconds. Torre opened with a dominant 20-2 technical fall in two minutes and followed with a 1:30 pin to improve to 3-0 on the day. Both wrestlers will compete on day two.

Terracciano leads the Gothic Knights this season with 13 pins, while Torre paces the Green and Gold with 13 technical falls. Torre also broke the program record for individual-season victories, surpassing Zack Vera's (Livingston, N.J./Livingston) previous mark of 26, and set a new program record for most technical falls in a season, eclipsing Dean Costantino's (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus) previous record of seven. Terracciano also surpassed his own rookie-season program record for pins, which previously stood at nine.

At 149 pounds, senior Zack Vera (Livingston, N.J./Livingston) (30-7) opened with back-to-back major decisions, 11-2 and 11-1. He was narrowly edged in the semifinals, 6-5, before battling through the consolation bracket. In round four, Vera secured a 16-9 overtime decision to advance to day two. He now leads NJCU with three major decisions this season.

Senior Walter Thomas (Scotch Plains, N.J./Scotch Plains-Fanwood) (4-11) earned a first-round bye at heavyweight but dropped his second-round match. In the consolation bracket, he secured a 2:17 pin—his first of the season—before his tournament run ended in round four, finishing 1-2 overall.

Senior Andy Beras (Bergenfield, N.J./Bergenfield) (8-16) went 1-2 at 157 pounds, opening with a 20-4 technical fall before exiting in the second round of the consolation bracket. Freshman Zahier Chiles (Newark, N.J./St. Benedict's Prepratory) (17-13) dropped his opening bout but rebounded with a 12-5 decision in the consolation bracket before being eliminated in the following round.

Junior Dean Costantino (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus) (20-10) competed at 141 pounds and went 0-2 in tightly contested decisions (9-4 and 13-10). Senior Simeon Hunte (Burlington Township, N.J./Burlington Township) (17-14) also finished 0-2 at 197 pounds. Juniors Diego Viera (Belleville, N.J./Belleville) (10-21) and Will Chrysler (5-22) went 0-2 in the 174- and 184-pound brackets, respectively.

UP NEXT
The Gothic Knights return to action Saturday, February 28, for Day Two of the NCAA Division III Region II Tournament. Competition is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m.