Wrestling | 12/6/2019 10:23:00 PM

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg University wrestling team ushered in a new era on Friday night by hosting the program's first-ever contest in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) at the Nelson Field House. Despite a hotly contested, and sometimes heated battle, against 25th-ranked Rider University, the Huskies came up on the short end of a 28-11 decision at the hands of the Broncs to fall to 0-2 on the season and 0-1 in the MAC. Rider improved to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in conference action.

Redshirt freshman Josh Mason (New Ringgold, Pa./Blue Mountain) earned an impressive fall at 133 pounds which, at the time, gave the Huskies a 6-3 advantage. Senior Nate Newberry (Biglerville, Pa./Biglerville) jumped out to a big lead and held on for a 15-10 win at 165 pounds while redshirt senior Trevor Allard (Mexico, N.Y./Mexico) needed a sudden victory period to earn a hard-fought victory at 184 pounds and to move to 11-1 on the year. Allard came into the weekend ranked 14th in the country according to the InterMat rankings.

Freshman Christian Gannone (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport South Manor) opened the night with a hard-fought 12-10 setback to Rider's Jonathon Tropea at 125 pounds to give the Broncs a 3-0 advantage. Gannone, who was looking for just his second career win, fell behind 7-4 after the opening period to Tropea who entered with an 8-3 mark. Tropea's lead grew to 10-4 early in the second before Gannone countered with an escape and a takedown later in the frame to cut the deficit to 10-7. Gannone battled back to tie the bout at 10-10 midway through the third before Tropea earned an escape and then a riding point to eke out the two-point win.

Mason then found himself down 8-2 through two periods against Richie Koehler at 133 before choosing top to start the third period. Just 27 seconds into the final period, Mason was able to turn Koehler over and pin his shoulders to the mat to turn what looked to be a loss into a six-point fall and a 6-3 advantage in the team scoring. Mason improved to 9-4 on the year with his team-leading sixth fall of the season.

After three consecutive Rider victories gave the visitors a 16-5 lead (Bloomsburg lost a team point after the 157-pound match), Newberry took to the mat against Georgio Poullas and jumped out to a 12-3 lead after a fast and furious first period. A quieter second period resulted in a 13-5 margin through two frames before business picked up again in the third. Despite Newberry getting whistled for three stall warnings in the third, the senior was able to hang on for a 15-10 victory to move his record to 4-3 on the year.

Allard followed with a tough 4-3 win over George Walton at 184 pounds getting the winning point via Walton's third stall warning of the match early in the sudden victory period. The redshirt senior couldn't generate much in the way of offense and found himself trailing 3-2 late in the third before Walton's second stall warning tied the match at 3-3. Nevertheless, Allard picked up his 11th victory in 12 matches this season and continues to climb the national rankings in the 184-pound weight bracket.

Rider lost a team point following Allard's match which put the score at 19-11, but the Broncs closed out the match with two wins to seal the win.

The Huskies will be off until Thursday, December 19, when they make the short trip to rival Lock Haven University for a MAC contest against the Bald Eagles. Action gets underway at 7:00 p.m.

#25 RIDER 28, BLOOMSBURG 11
125: Jonathon Tropea (RIDER) decision over Christian Gannone (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport South Manor) (BLOOM), 12-10
133: Josh Mason (New Ringgold, Pa./Blue Mountain) (BLOOM) fall over Richie Koehler (RIDER), 5:27
141: Robbie Cleary (RIDER) fall over Aaron Coleman (Iselin, N.J./John F. Kennedy Memorial) (BLOOM), 4:28
149: Gino Fluri (RIDER) major decision over Gavin Hale (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) (BLOOM), 20-8
157: Jesse Dellavecchia (RIDER) decision over Alex Carida (Hackettstown, N.J./Hackettstown) (BLOOM), 6-4
165: Nate Newberry (Biglerville, Pa./Biglerville) (BLOOM) decision over Georgio Poullas (RIDER), 15-10
174: Dean Sherry (RIDER) major decision over Anthony Vetrano (Middletown, N.J./Middletown North) (BLOOM), 9-1
184: #14 Trevor Allard (Mexico, N.Y./Mexico) (BLOOM) decision over George Walton (RIDER), 4-3 (SV-1)
197: Ethan Laird (RIDER) decision over Kyle Murphy (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) (BLOOM), 8-2
285: Ryan Cloud (RIDER), fall over Jarrett Walters (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) (BLOOM), 0:26

*Note: Bloomsburg lost a team point following 157-pound match; Rider lost a team point following 184-pound match