By Ronald Hanaki

Sports Editor

The No. 5-ranked University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown Mountain Cats defeated ESU Wrestling 34-6 on Tuesday, Nov. 21.

There were a total of ten matches, and the Warriors won three of them.

The Warriors were led by redshirt-sophomore Mike Raccioppi. Raccioppi is ranked No. 9 nationally, and he is also ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division II Super Region 1 rankings. Raccoppi is coming off winning the 165-pound title at the ESU Open on Nov. 12.

In a highly anticipated match against UPJ’s No. 11-ranked Devin Austin, Raccioppi defeated Austin by a 9-3 decision.

Other wins for the Warriors came from freshman Victor Lopez at 125-pounds and redshirt-junior Blake Cohen at 149-pounds.

Redshirt-junior Dylan Nace is ranked No. 8 nationally, but he did not participate in this wrestling dual.

In one of the more memorable matches, UPJ sophomore Levi Niebauer at 197-pounds pinned ESU sophomore Daniel Makagon in 1:48.

At 285-pounds, UPJ senior D.J. Sims pinned freshman Hunter Marhan in 4:55 to cap the night for the Mountain Cats.

The Pitt-Johnstown Mountain Cats are a wrestling powerhouse and are currently ranked No. 5 in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division II rankings.

The Warriors (0-1) will return to the mat at the Newberry Duals this Sunday.

Email Ronald at:

rhanaki@live.esu.edu