MOUNT OLIVE (Jan. 21) – The Trojans registered a split in a pair of South Atlantic Conference Carolinas (SAAC) dual meets on Saturday afternoon after facing nationally-ranked No. 2 Lander and Belmont Abbey on Senior Day at Kornegay Arena.

With the split, the University of Mount Olive men's wrestling team moves to 10-4 overall with a 4-2 record in league play. The Trojans sit fourth in the conference standings with four league dual meets remaining ahead of the NCAA Super Regional II in late February. UMO defeated the Crusaders of Belmont Abbey for the first time in program history in the third meeting between the sides.

Below are the team scores for the Mount Olive Tri-Meet.

No. 2 Lander over Mount Olive, 36-10
No. 2 Lander over Belmont Abbey, 41-4
Mount Olive over Belmont Abbey, 29-16

Against Belmont Abbey, sophomore Lens Mathurin secured a comeback victory at 125 in the closing seconds of the third period with a 4-point near fall as time expired to win by a 7-6 decision over Josh Vega. The Crusaders responded with a victory by a 2-0 decision in the 133-weight class before No. 7 ranked John Carayiannis of Belmont Abbey won via fall at 141. The Trojans regained the lead by an 11-9 margin after redshirt freshman Dallas Wilson (149) claimed a 9-1 major decision against Tyler Pepe and junior Michael Vernagallo (157) won by a 13-1 major decision over Maxwell Kiel. Sophomore Jake Nicolosi added to the lead with a victory via fall versus Paul Jakub at 165 in the final seconds of the first period, 17-9. Belmont Abbey trimmed the deficit to 17-16 behind a major decision in the 174-weight class and a decision at 184. Sophomore Jonathan Clack (197) countered with a win via fall in the first period over Christos Avgeros before redshirt senior Nico Ramirez finished the dual meet with a pin against Joseph Bannister-Pesce at heavyweight, 29-16.

Against Lander, the Bearcats quickly established a 15-0 advantage after a trio of ranked individual wrestlers combined for two falls and a decision. Wilson responded with an 8-0 major decision after securing a four-point near fall and ride time in the third period over Jack Tangen at 149. Vernagallo followed with a stellar fall in the first period against Ryan Dobbs, as UMO trailed 15-10. Over the final five matches, Lander posted a perfect 5-0 mark with a trio of decisions and two pins to win by a 36-10 margin.

Mount Olive returns to the mat on Sunday, Jan. 29, when they travel to face Limestone in conference action at 5 p.m.

Match Results vs. No. 2 Lander
125: No. 4 James Joplin (Lander) def. Lens Mathurin (UMO), by Fall (2:58)
133: No. 6 Elijah Lusk (Lander) def. Jeffrey Richards (UMO), 2-0 Decision
141: No. 1 Zeth Brower (Lander) def. Hayden Waddell (UMO), by Fall (1:46)
149: Dallas Wilson (UMO) def. Jack Tangen (Lander), 8-0 Major Decision
157: Michael Vernagallo (UMO) def. Ryan Dobbs (Lander), by Fall (1:36)
165: David Hunsberger (Lander) def. Jake Nicolosi (UMO), 6-1 Decision
174: Jack Bond (Lander) def. Seth Thomas (UMO), 10-4 Decision
184: No. 4 Logan Hall (Lander) def. Noah Williams (UMO), by Fall (3:26)
197: No. 7 Anthony Yacovetti (Lander) def. Jonathan Clack (UMO), by Fall (3:23)
285: No. 8 Juan Edmond-Holmes (Lander) def. Nico Ramirez (UMO), 9-6 Decision
Extra: Gage Bernall (Lander) def. Tyler Vinson (UMO), by Fall (1:40)
 
Match Results vs Belmont Abbey
125: Lens Mathurin (UMO) def. Josh Vega (Belmont Abbey), 7-6 Decision
133: Elijah Boyd (Belmont Abbey) def. Jeffrey Richards (UMO), 2-1 Decision
141: No. 7 John Carayiannis (Belmont Abbey) def. Hayden Waddell (UMO), by Fall (2:44)
149: Dallas Wilson (UMO) def. Tyler Pepe (Belmont Abbey), 9-1 Major Decision
157: Michael Vernagallo (UMO) def. Maxwell Kiel (Belmont Abbey), 13-1 Major Decision
165: Jake Nicolosi (UMO) def. Paul Jakub (Belmont Abbey), by Fall (2:55)
174: Kyler Pickard (Belmont Abbey) def. Dimitri Naimi (UMO), 10-2 Major Decision
184: Amir Joseph (Belmont Abbey) def. Seth Thomas (UMO), 11-4 Decision
197: Jonathan Clack (UMO) def. Christos Avgeros (Belmont Abbey), by Fall (2:43)
285: Nico Ramirez (UMO) def. Joseph Bannister-Pesce (Belmont Abbey), by Fall (1:21)
Extra: Tobias Finn (Belmont Abbey) def. Richard Williams (UMO), 5-2 Decision
Extra: Bryson Bench (Belmont Abbey) def. Ridge Kidder (UMO), by Fall (2:43)
Extra: Colby Maxwell (Belmont Abbey) def. Devin McCorkle (UMO), 8-4 Decision