NWCA Super Region I Rankings

EAST STROUDSBURG – East Stroudsburg University won five of the nine contested bouts, including bonus point triumphs by redshirt sophomore Dylan Nace and senior Tyler Richardson, but a late rally helped Scranton pull out a 19-18 victory on Wednesday evening at Koehler Fieldhouse.

The Royals (9-0) won the final two bouts on the night after trailing 18-13 to remain unbeaten on the season.

Redshirt freshman Francesco Palagruto picked up the first victory of the night at 133 pounds for ESU (1-2), using an early second period takedown to top Nicholas Ciaccio by a 2-0 final.

Nace followed with a convincing 15-4 major decision over T.J. Conlon at 141. The Flemington, N.J., native opened up a 6-0 advantage after the first period and continued to increase that margin throughout the contest.

Earlier in the afternoon, Nace moved up to No. 3 in his weight class in the first NWCA D-II Super Region I rankings of the regular season. Slotted at No. 5 in the preseason listings, Nace is off to an 11-2 start overall this fall, including a 3-0 mark in duals which improves his career collegiate record to 16-0.

Nace's win gave ESU a 7-6 edge after Scranton was staked to an early lead due to a forfeit at 125. Junior Christian Silva upped that margin to 10-6 with a 12-8 victory over Max Tricolla at 149. Trailing 6-5 after two periods, he rallied for seven points in the final two minutes to improve his season mark to 5-4.

After the Royals leveled the match at 10-10 with a major decision at 157, senior Joey Kratochvil topped Andrew Gombas 8-6 at 165 to put the Warriors back ahead. Two escapes and a takedown in the third, along with the riding time point, made the difference after the bout was tied 3-3 through the opening two periods.

Kratochvil, listed at No. 6 at 149 in the preseason region rankings, is now No. 8 at 157 after competing at that weight class in three of his first six bouts this season.

Senior Tyler Richardson earned the final victory of the night for ESU at 184 with an 18-3 technical fall final over Kevin Merle. The Brick, N.J., native is now 3-0 in duals this season and 25-14 for his career, while the technical fall was his second as a Warrior.

Richardson moved up to No. 3 in the region at 184 after heading into the regular season at No. 4. He is 8-4 so far this fall, earning pins in six of those eight victories.

A 7-1 decision for Salvatore Montuori at 285 completed the comeback for Scranton, which is off to its best start to a season in the program's 49-year history.

ESU is back in action on Sunday afternoon for a tri-match at West Liberty. The Warriors will take on Ashland, currently ranked No. 4 in Super Region II, at 1 p.m. before facing the host Hilltoppers at 3 p.m.


Scranton 19, ESU 18
125 – Nicholas DePierro (SCR) won by forfeit … Scranton leads, 6-0
133 – Francesco Palagruto (ESU) dec. Nicholas Ciaccia, 2-0 … Scranton leads, 6-3
141 – Dylan Nace (ESU) maj. dec. T.J. Conlon, 15-4 … ESU leads, 7-6
149 – Christian Silva (ESU) dec. Max Tricolla, 12-8 … ESU leads, 10-6
157 – Ian Evans (SCR) maj. dec. Blake Cohen, 10-1 … Tied, 10-10
165 – Joey Kratochvil (ESU) dec. Andrew Gombas, 8-6 … ESU leads, 13-10
174 – Zachary D'Apolito (SCR) dec. Vickson Krah, 8-4 … Tied, 13-13
184 – Tyler Richardson (ESU) tech. fall Kevin Merle, 18-3 (7:00) … ESU leads, 18-13
197 – Keegan Connelly (SCR) dec. Brandon Steele, 8-2 … ESU leads, 18-16
285 – Salvatore Montuori (SCR) dec. Daniel Makagon, 7-1 … Scranton wins, 19-18