Hofstra wrestling dominates VMI

The Hofstra University wrestling team put forth a dominant road effort on Saturday, Jan. 13, as they defeated the Keydets of Virginia Military Institute (VMI) with a score of 28-6. The Pride won their matches in eight of the 10 weight classes, including the final seven en route to their victory.

The Pride dominated the Keydets for most of the dual meet, with three of their eight wins on the day achieved through major decisions or technical falls. While the meet started evenly, with VMI taking two of the first three bouts, Hofstra took the remaining seven bouts. Freshman standout Noah Tapia began the rally with a 6-3 decision over Ryan Vigil in the 149-pound weight class. This was Tapia’s sixth consecutive win, bringing his record for the season to 13-9. Tapia leads the team record so far this year.

Jurius Clark and Jake Slotnick won both of their matches via major decision, beating VMI’s Josh Yost in the 157-pound weight class and Luke Hart in the 165-pound weight class, respectively. Clark scored the final 11 points in his match after falling behind 3-1, improving to 9-3 for the season while Slotnick moved to 5-3.

Ross McFarland is riding an impressive run of form lately with his 6-0 win over Braxton Lewis in the 174-pound weight class, which marked his fourth consecutive victory. This streak has improved McFarland to a 7-4 record on the campaign.

Finishing off the dual meet, Keaton Kluever earned his first career technical fall, with a convincing 20-4 rout over Tyler Mousaw in the 285-pound weight class. Kluever’s strong season continued, as this win pushed him to an 8-2 record.

Hofstra wrestlers Dylan Acevedo-Switzer, Will Conlon and Nikolas Miller all won their matches as well. Acevedo-Switzer won his 125-pound bout against Tony Burke by a score of 8-3, Will Conlon won 8-1 in the 184-pound weight class against Caleb Chandler, and Nikolas Miller defeated Josh Evans 8-2 in the 197-pound weight class. Acevedo-Switzer and Miller both improved to 4-10, and Conlon now sits at 8-8.

This win improved the Pride to 4-3 for the season, and they will next take the mat on Sunday, Jan. 14, against the George Mason University Patriots, who currently sit at 9-4 for the year. The dual meet is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. in Virginia.

Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Pete Coco