The TCNJ wrestling team, ranked No. 2 nationally, secured a decisive 31-6 victory over No. 7 Wisconsin-Whitewater in a dual meet held Thursday night in Whitewater, Wisconsin. The match was highlighted by TCNJ earning bonus points in five bouts and dominating a Warhawks squad that finished 13th at last year’s NCAA Championships and returned two All-Americans.
Matt Coon started the evening for the Lions with a narrow 2-1 win at heavyweight. Matthew Griffin followed with a major decision, defeating Brady Phelps 17-5 at 125 pounds. Garrett Totten continued the momentum for TCNJ, handling Jordan Rasof with a 14-3 major decision at 133 pounds.
At 141 pounds, Vinnie Santaniello delivered an impressive performance against Justin Fortugno, who is ranked tenth nationally. Santaniello won the bout 11-3 after scoring two takedowns in the third period.
Wisconsin-Whitewater managed to get on the scoreboard with decisions at both 149 and 157 pounds. At 149, Colin Menier faced off against Dominick Mallinder, an All-American ranked fifth in the nation for 2025, but ultimately lost in an 11-6 contest.
Steve Dalling put TCNJ back on track with an 8-5 victory over Aden Byal at 165 pounds, breaking a tie late in the third period with a takedown. This set up a notable matchup between top-ranked Mays of TCNJ and Brayden Peet of Wisconsin-Whitewater—Peet being a returning All-American ranked third nationally at his weight class. Mays prevailed with takedowns in both the first and third periods to secure a 7-2 win.
The Lions concluded the dual meet strongly with consecutive technical falls: Jimmy Dolan defeated his opponent at 184 pounds by a score of 21-6, while D.J. Henry—ranked second nationally at 197—won by technical fall over Logan Kawa after recording seven takedowns before the end of the second period.
TCNJ will remain in Wisconsin to participate in the CUW Invitational on Saturday.
