The Pioneer Trail: Friday, Feb. 6, 2015
Wrestling at UNC Pembroke - 7 p.m.After a fine performance on Super Bowl Sunday, the LIU Post wrestling team takes its longest road trip of the season, starting with a dual meet this Friday in Pembroke, N.C.
Four Pioneer wrestlers placed inside the Top-5 in their weight classes at the USC Wildcat Open on Feb. 1, held in Providence, R.I. at Johnson & Wales. Leading the green and gold was 184-lb. freshman
Ronnie King (Islip, N.Y.), who swept the bracket in his class and took his first career individual championship. King pinned his first-round opponent and won by major decision to advance to the semifinals, where he was victorious in consecutive one-point decisions to claim the title.
Red-shirt freshman
Jackson Mordente (Farmingville, N.Y.) notched a second-place finish at the 157-lb. discipline, falling in the final. Freshman
Joe Calderone (Huntington Station, N.Y.) placed third in the 133-lb. weight class, winning both of his wrestlebacks to reach the podium. Additionally, sophomore
Tyler Walsh (West Islip, N.Y.) notched a fourth-place finish at the 125-lb. weight class, and classmate
Vinny Turano (Wantagh, N.Y.) sported a stellar fifth-place outing at the 141-lb. weight class.
Three Pioneer wrestlers are ranked in the Top-6 of the most recent Basford Coaches Super Region One rankings. Calderone ranks third at 133, while junior
Jesse Meaney (Toms River, N.J.) is the third-ranked wrestler at the 141-lb. discipline. Senior
Chris DiIorio (Holtsville, N.Y.) holds the fourth-place ranking at the 197-lb. class.
UNC-Pembroke comes into the dual meet with a 9-3 record and a No. 20 national ranking, according to Intermat Wrestling. The Braves are led by red-shirt senior Daniel Ownbey (Asheville, N.C.) at the 141-lb. weight class. Ownbey is currently the second-ranked wrestler in the country at that discipline, according to Intermat. Joining him inside the national rankings are red-shirt senior Terrence Zaleski (Jacksonville, N.C.) and red-shirt senior Chris Giddens (Winston-Salem, N.C.). Zaleski is ranked fourth at 174 pounds, while Giddens is the No. 7 heavyweight wrestler in the country.
Zaleski won the Midwest Classic championship at 174 pounds back in December, sweeping through his opponents to claim the title. Ownbey and Giddens were runners-up in their respective disciplines.