Broncs stay undefeated in MAC, fall to ranked Rutgers
By Benjamin Shinault
On Jan. 30, Rider wrestling took a bus ride down to Virginia to take on the George Mason University Patriots. Coming into the match, the Broncs were undefeated in Mid-American Conference action and walked away from it still unbeaten, as they dominated 30-13.
The Broncs then arrived back on campus to take on nationally-ranked Rutgers University on Jan. 31. But this time, Rider fell short 21-12.
‘We controlled the tempo’
Rider came out of the gates aggressive with four straight wins to get out to an 18-0 lead. Graduate student Tyler Klinsky continued his impressive season with a tight win by decision 4-2. Following Klinsky, graduate student Will Betancourt followed up with a major decision victory, 11-2.
The dominance would continue on for graduate student Elijah Griffin who steam rolled through his opponent, winning 17-2. The scoring run would continue with a win for sophomore Dylan Layton.
“I thought we controlled the tempo and pushed the pace,” Head Coach John Hangey said to Rider Athletics.
After the Layton victory, the Broncs hit a road block, as George Mason would snag three straight victories over Rider to bring the score to 18-13.
“We let some matches slip away, which we will have to correct before the MACs. We are working on being more consistent at this point in the season, it’s critical for success,” Hangey said. The Broncs, now only up 18-13 with three matches remaining, were able to get back on track with a major decision win from sophomore JP Hangey.
Following the Hangey win, junior Brock Zurawski destroyed his opponent during his match to earn himself a technical fall to put Rider out of reach for the Patriots.
In the final match, heavyweight graduate student Hogan Swenski took care of business and grabbed a win by decision 6-1 to give Rider its conference-best fourth win.
Started out hot
The ever iconic Battle of Route 1 went down in a jam-packed Alumni Gym on Jan. 31 as the Broncs welcomed the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers University.
Standing tall by the sweaty mats was the trophy that the Broncs and the Scarlet Knights would be wrestling over, but 16th-ranked Rutgers was able to take home the trophy a bit north as they won 21-12.
The Broncs started out hot, as they won three of the first four matches. Klinsky stacked up another win by decision 8-5.
“He does everything right all the time,” Hangey said of Klinsky. “He’s a perfect poster child for my team and my guys.”
After the Klinsky win, Rutgers was able to take down, but the Broncs responded immediately with back-to-back wins from Griffin and Layton.
Layton pulled off an upset win over the 31st-ranked wrestler in the 149-pound weight class.
“He was long overdue,” Hangey said, “Dylan has a ton of talent, he’s got a very high competitive spirit.”
After the big Layton win, Rutgers would rattle off four straight wins, until Zurawski came in and spoiled the Rutgers parade with a high-scoring decision victory, 14-7.
Swenski came in for the final match of the night, but fell short and cemented the loss for the Broncs.
“Overall, I thought we wrestled well in a losing effort,” Hangey said.
Rider returns on Feb. 6 to MAC action against the Bald Eagles of Lock Haven University at 7 p.m. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
