York, Pa- Six Aggies competed on day two of the 2023 New Standard Corp. Men's Wrestling Invitational hosted by York College. Delaware Valley Men's Wrestling finished day one of the tournament sitting in eighth place and had four wrestlers advancing to the semi-finals. The Aggies would go on to have six wrestlers place in the top six, including junior Ryan Arndt who advanced all the way to the finals at the 133 lb bracket. Delaware Valley finished the tournament taking home sixth place out of fifteen teams in the team score.

At 133 lbs, junior Ryan Arndt started off the day with a bang when he defeated nationally ranked #6 Isaiah Torres of Ithaca in the semi-final round by a 12-4 major decision. Arndt avenged a loss from last season and defeated Torres, a returning regional finalist and 2023 NCAA national qualifier. Arndt would go on to drop his finals match by technical fall to nationally ranked #10 Luke Hoerle of Stevens. The junior is now the team leader for wins for Delaware Valley and he has placed in every tournament of the season thus for the Aggies.

At 184 lbs, first year Nicholas Hall made his season debut in his new weight class last night, and the success carried over into day two of the tournament. Hall started off the day with a close 5-3 decision win over Jake Jones of Ithaca. In the following round, Nicholas Hall would win another closely contested bout when he scored the match-winning take down and defeated Vinchenzo Corvetto by a 4-2 decision. In the third place match, the first-year matched up against Rylan Moose of Marymount. Hall would go on to yet again notch the winning take down late in the match to secure a 4-1 decision, securing a third place finish. Second time this season Hall placed in the top three in an individual tournament at his weight class. The first-year notched a total of six wins over a two day span. 

At 165 lbs, Joeseph McCullough won his first match of the day by defeating Hunter Moore of Roanoke by pin fall. McCullough would receive a medical forfeit in the next round, securing him a top-four guaranteed finish. The sophomore would go on to drop this third-place match by fall to Mark Troni of Washington & Lee, earning him fourth place. McCullough earned his highest tournament placement of the season and scored bonus points in every match he won.

At 157 lbs, first-year Nicholas Delorenzo dropped his semi-finals match by fall to eventual tournament champion Jack Richardson of Johnson & Wales. Delorenzo would then lose a 14-10 decision to Ryan Datz of TCNJ in the next round. In the fifth-place match, Nicholas Delorenzo would secure a come from behind victory when he pinned Zach Ortega of Apprentice in the final seconds of the match. The first-year has placed in every tournament that he has wrestled in up to this point and has added four more wins to his impressive start of his college wrestling career.

At 174 lbs, Luke Moore dropped an 11-1 major decision to nationally ranked  and eventual tournament champion #15 Harrison Kelly of Washington & Lee. Moore would lose his next-round match by fall to nationally ranked and returning NCAA All-American #13 Stefan Major of Stevens. The Sophomore would rebound with a pin fall victory over Sean Cowen of Ursinus, securing him fifth place. The sophomore has placed in every tournament he has wrestled in up to this point as well and is now third on the team in victories.

Sophomore HWT Logan Flynn defaulted out of the tournament after advancing to the semi-final round last night, securing him a sixth place finish.

Here is what head coach Andrew Taylor had to say after the tournament...

"The New Standard Invite is one of the toughest Division III tournaments out there. This weekend showcased multiple Top 10 and Top 25 teams with high talent at every weight. Many of our men stood the test and elevated their compete level. There are small things to clean up and a lot of points we still left on the mat."

Delaware Valley men's wrestling will be back in action on Friday, December 8th when they host the Colonels of Wilkes in the Aggies 2023-2024 home opener.