The Pioneer Trail: Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015

2/12/2015 11:57:00 AM

Wrestling vs. East Stroudsburg - 7 p.m.
Following a 1-2 outing in North Carolina over this past weekend, the LIU Post wrestling team comes home for the final time in their return season. The Pioneers will host East Stroudsburg at the Pratt Recreation Center, and also take the time to honor three seniors of the program.

In their most recent day of competition, the green and gold emerged victorious over Anderson (S.C.) by a score of 20-18 before dropping a 25-19 decision to Ferrum on Saturday (Feb. 7). The Pioneers opened competition in the Tar Heel State by falling to No. 20 UNC-Pembroke on Friday (Feb. 6), 24-15.

Freshman Ronnie King (Islip, N.Y.) has had quite the month of February for the Pioneers. The 184-lb. grappler has won seven consecutive bouts since the month began, including a first-place showing at the USC Wildcat Open on Feb. 1. King went 3-0 in North Carolina, scoring two victories by decision and earning an 8-0 major decision win over Ferrum's Chris Carter (Fredericksburg, Va.). Fellow classmate Joe Calderone (Huntington Station, N.Y.) went 2-1 with two pinfall triumphs at the 133-lb. discipline over the weekend, while sophomore Tyler Walsh (West Islip, N.Y.) scored a pinfall victory and a 7-3 decision over Anderson's Tyler Fitzpatrick to sport two victories on the weekend.

Sophomore Vinny Turano (Wantagh, N.Y.), freshman Matt Langan (Wantagh, N.Y.) and freshman James Louison (Hauppauge, N.Y.) also recorded victories in the meet against Anderson. Turano earned a 16-0 technical fall at 141 over Carter Thomas (Chattanooga, Tenn.), while Langan followed with an 8-3 victory at the 149-lb. weight class. Louison notched a pinfall over Fletcher Smith (Savannah, Ga.) in the heavyweight bout to give the Pioneers a 20-18 victory.

The Pioneers have three wrestlers ranked inside the top-6 in their weight classes, according to the most recent Basford Super Region One rankings. Calderone is the second-ranked wrestler at 133 pounds, junior Jesse Meaney (Toms River, N.J.) ranks third at 141, and senior Chris DiIorio (Holtsville, N.Y.) is ranked third at the 197-lb. discipline.

East Stroudsburg is coming off of a 24-13 dual meet loss to Seton Hill on Tuesday (Feb. 10). Despite their 5-8 record in duals, the Warriors sport three of the best wrestlers in the Basford Super Region One rankings. Red-shirt senior Luke DeLuise (Mt. Bethel, Pa.) is ranked fourth at 184 pounds, while junior Tyson Searer (Lewiston, Pa.) is the fourth-best heavyweight wrestler in the region. Sophomore Tyler Richardson (Brick, N.J.) is the top-placing wrestler in the rankings at the 197-lb. class, setting up a No. 1 versus No. 3 matchup in tonight's competition.

Prior to the contest, Head Coach Joe Patrovich and the LIU Post wrestling team will honor DiIorio and fellow seniors Johnny Brush (East Meadow, N.Y.) and Francisco Viera-Pereira (Huntington Station, N.Y.).