WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. –  Drexel earned its first two victories on the season against Purdue and Utah Valley in the Purdue Duals on Tuesday. With the win, DU earned its first program triumph over the Boilermakers, 20-17. The Dragons went 2-1 on the day as they defeated Utah Valley 19-13, but fell to Campbell. DU was 24-15 in its individual bouts.
 
In his return to the mat, No. 6 Mickey O'Malley fought for three huge wins for the Dragons. The victories included a thriller that went to TB-2 against No. 5 Romero of Utah Valley. Brian Bonino had a career day at 184 pounds, upsetting two ranked opponents; No. 23 Hopkins and No. 32 Vanadia. Additionally, No. 29 Luke Nichter and No. 18 Evan Barczak went 3-0. 
 

Against Purdue:
The Boilermakers started off the dual with a fall at 125. Kyle Waterman earned Drexel its first decision at 133. Purdue won in a major decision at 141 pounds to give them a 10-3 advantage. Luke Nichter came out from the gate for the second week in a row with a huge takedown and held on to win 6-1. The Dragons won four straight matches at 165 to 197 to take a 20-14 lead. Barczak and O'Malley dominated in major decisions. O'Malley's victory completed a comeback for the Drexel as it tied the match at 14. Bonino defeated No. 32 Vanadia in a super close match in which he won 2-1 on an escape point. Sean O'Malley took down Filipovich early in the first period and continued his offensive success, which led to a 7-3 decision to extend DU's lead to six. In the final bout, Santino Morina dropped a close match, 4-1, as Drexel won its first dual of the year, 20-17.
 
Drexel 20, Purdue 17
125 | No. 8 Matt Ramos def. Antonio Mininno, Fall 4:08; Purdue 6-0
133 | Kyle Waterman def. Dustin Norris, 5-1; Purdue 6-3
141 | No. 16 Parker Filius def. Jordan Soriano, MD 11-3; Purdue 10-3
149 | No. 29 Luke Nichter def. Trey Kruse 6-1; Purdue 10-6
157 | No. 3 Kendall Coleman def. Tyler Williams, MD 15-6; Purdue 14-6
165 | No. 18 Evan Barczak def. Stoney Buell, MD 13-2; Purdue 14-10
174 | No. 6 Mickey O'Malley def. Macartney Parkinson, MD 9-0; tie 14-14
184 | Brian Bonino def. No.32 Ben Vanadia, 2-1; Drexel 17-14
197 | Sean O'Malley def. Hayden Filipovich, 7-3; Drexel 20-14
285 | Tristan Ruhlman def. Santino Morina 4-1; Drexel wins 20-17
 
Extra Matches
125 | Kooper Loehr def. Desmond Pleasant 3-2
157 | Tate Nichter def. Brennan Doyle, 6-5
184 | Josh Stillings def. Mitch Hutmacher, MD 10-2
 
 
Against Campbell:
The Dragons were not able to carry their momentum into its second matchup. They found themselves in an early 11-0 disadvantage after three bouts. Luke Nichter started to swing the dual in favor of Drexel. The sophomore won a 12-3 major decision at 149 pounds. This victory, started a chain of Dragon successes. D'Agostino earned a 7-5 decision and Barczak found his second win, 4-0. Mickey O'Malley entered the third period of his match tied at four. In sudden victory one, he pocketed a takedown to win 6-4 and gave Drexel its first lead of the dual. The fifth triumph was an upset for Brian Bonino, the graduate student defeated No. 23 Hopkins 3-1, which put DU in front 16-11. Sean O'Malley and Santino Morina came up short, both falling in major decisions as Campbell walked off 19-16. 
 
Campbell 19, Drexel 16
125 | Anthony Molton def. Antonio Mininno MD 12-3; CU 4-0
133 | Gabriel Hixenbaugh def. Kyle Waterman, 6-1; CU 7-0
141 | Shannon Hanna def. Jordan Soriano, MD 14-5; CU 11-0
149 | Luke Nichter def. Callum Sitek, MD 12-3; CU 11-4
157 | Dom D'Agostino def. Keegan Roberson, 7-5; CU 11-7
165 | Evan Barczak def. Dom Baker, 4-0; CU 11-10
174 | Mickey O'Malley def. Cole Rees; SV1 6-4 ; Drexel 13-11
184 | Brian Bonino def. No. 23 Caleb Hopkins, 3-1; Drexel 16-11
197 | Levi Hopkins def. Sean O'Malley, MD 12-4; Drexel 16-15
285 | Taye Ghadiali def. Santino Morina MD 14-4; CU 19-16
 
Extra Matches
125 | Desmond Pleasant def. Zak Thompson, 11-8
149 | Gabe Onorato def. Domenic DeFalco, 5-1
184 | Josh Stillings def. Shane Quick, 7-3


Against Utah Valley:
After a heartbreaking thriller against the Camels, Mininno tried to start Drexel off strong but could not prevail as Utah Valley won the first match. At 133, Waterman earned four points on reversals on his way to a 7-2 decision. Jordan Soriano got the nod at 141 and made the most of it in a 6-3 victory. Nichter picked up his third triumph of the afternoon and Drexel held a 9-3 advantage. D'Agostino fell in a tough match at 157 but DU bounced back to win a pair of matches at 165 and 174. Mickey O'Malley battled his way to victory over No. 5 Romero. The match was a low-scoring affair, at the end of the third period, it was tied at one after each wrestler escaped. The match stayed even until TB-1 when O'Malley escaped again and Romero earned ten seconds of riding time. In TB-2, Romero was not able to escape in under ten seconds or earn a takedown and Mickey held on. At 184, Bonino faced previously ranked Morse and came out on top 6-1 after earning two takedowns. Sean O'Malley held his own against No. 20 Bockman but fell 7-4. In the final match at heavyweight, Morina was unable to score as he was downed 2-0. In the end, the Dragons earned a tough dual win against the Wolverines 19-13. 
 
Drexel 19, Utah Valley 13
125: Kase Mauger def. Antonio Mininno, 9-3; UVU 3-0
133: Kyle Waterman def. Kobe Nelms, 7-2; Tied 3-3
141: Jordan Soriano def. Ty Smith, 6-3; Drexel 6-3
149: No. 29 Luke Nichter def. Isaiah Delgado, 13-6; Drexel 9-3
157: Alex Emmer def. Dom D'Agostino, MD 9-1; Drexel 9-7
165: No. 18 Evan Barczak def. Danny Snediker, MD 8-0; Drexel 13-7
174: No.6 Mickey O'Malley def. No. 5 Demetrius Romero, TB2 2-2; Drexel 16-7
184: Brian Bonino def. Hunter Morse, 6-1; Drexel 19-7
197: No. 20 Evan Bockman def. Sean O'Malley 7-4; Drexel 19-10
285: Chase Trussell def. Santino Morina, 2-0; Drexel wins 19-13
 
Extra Matches
141 | Deon Pleasant def. Kainalu Estrella, 9-3
149 | Gabe Onorato def. Tyson Humpherys, 6-4
165 | Cody Walsh def. Tanner Lofthouse, Fall 3:55
 
 
Quotes on Today's Duals:
"I'm really happy about my performance. I'm just excited to be on this team. Watching everyone compete makes me want to wrestle harder. When I see everyone winning it just makes me want to win too." - Brian Bonino (Graduate Student, 184 lbs)
 
"Today was the most complete performance we've had all season. We've been building over the last month and we're reaping the benefits of the quality work put in. Today we went 25-14 overall in matches wrestled. It was truly a full team effort and I'm happy for our guys. Now we'll enjoy a break and get ready for EIWA conference duals." - Mert '67 and Joanne '69 Hill Head Coach of Wrestling Matt Azevedo 
 
Up Next:
The Dragons return to action on January 6^th at the F&M Open in Lancaster, Pa. Wrestling is scheduled to start at 9:00 a.m.