ST. LOUIS, Mo. (Mar. 13, 2015) - After dropping his first match at the 2015 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championship, freshman Joe Calderone (Huntington Station, N.Y.) battled his way to two wins in wrestle-backs to advance to Day 2 of the tournament.

To begin the day, Calderone had a tough bout against Michael Labry of Ashland University. Calderone fell, 7-4, sending him to the round of wrestle-backs.

The Pioneers' other qualifier, senior Chris DiIorio (Holtsville, N.Y.), who came in as the regional champion in the 197-lb. class, was matched up against Joe Gomez of Northern State. Under a minute into the third period, Gomez was able to pin DiIorio, sending the senior to the wrestle-backs as well.

In the second session, Calderone defeated Jordan Gurrola of San Francisco State, 4-2, to advance to the second round of wrestle-backs. Then, trailing 6-4 to Shorter's Aldon Isenburg, Calderon seized an opportunity and was able to get the pinfall.

In DiIorio's wresle-back attempt, he faced Evan Rosborough of Lake Erie. DiIorio dropped a hard-fought bout, ending his incredible run this season.

Calderone can finish no worse than eighth, securing himself a spot on the podium on Saturday night (Mar. 14). He'll face Nick Crume of the University of Indianapolis in his attempt to climb up the podium. All events can be seen live on NCAA.com.