A pair of dramatic wins helped the Muhlenberg wrestling team to a 23-15 win against New Jersey City in its first match of 2022.

After the teams split the first two bouts, with sophomore Joey Lamparelli recording his seventh pin of the season at 125 for the Mules, sophomore Ricky Caamano and his 141-pound opponent battled through seven minutes of regulation in which the only points were quick escapes at the start of the second and third periods.

Caamano (pictured above) finally scored the first offensive points when he took his opponent down 52 seconds into overtime for the 3-1 sudden victory.

The next bout was wilder. Freshman Chris Sockler was nearly pinned twice in the first period and found himself in a 12-3 hole. But a late reversal sent him into the second period with some momentum. Sockler took his opponent down three times in the second period to head into the final stanza down only 14-12.

The Gothic Knight wrestler chose the down position to start the third, but the decision backfired when Sockler scored an immediate two-point near-fall to tie the score. In fact, Sockler kept his opponent down for the entire third period, and the point he earned from that riding time gave him the thrilling 15-14 victory.

Senior Ronnie Grevera earned a 4-2 decision at 165, and freshman Jack Patti took his opponent down in the final seconds of both the first and second periods en route to a 7-2 decision at 174.

Box Score
125 Joey Lamparelli (M) pinned George Rivera, 5:54
133 Damienlee Torres (JC) dec Frank DiEsso, 11-9
141 Ricky Caamano (M) dec. Dom Merola, 3-1 (ot)
149 Chris Sockler (M) dec. Mikey Cross, 15-14
157 Jeff Johnson (JC) dec. Anson Dewar, 11-5
165 Ronnie Grevera (M) dec. Jake Sisk, 4-2
174 Jack Patti (M) dec. Ty Bailey, 7-2
184 Shane Lillkissoon (JC) maj. dec. Hunter Gill, 12-3
197 Kyle Hillermeier (JC) pinned Luca Colestock, 3:53
HWT Ramiro Osuna (M) won by forfeit