ALLENTOWN, Pa. (February 17, 2019)  – Freshman Joseph Schneider of the Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling team collected a technical fall and three decisions en route to the 149-pound individual title Sunday at the Southeast/Mideast Futures Tournament, hosted by Muhlenberg College. Team scores were not compiled.

"Today was a great opportunity for our guys to get some more matches and compete against some high-level competition," said assistant wrestling coach Anthony Bonaventura. "They battled hard and have shown tremendous growth since first stepping into the wrestling room back in October."

"Joe Schneider had a great day and was able to end his freshman season with a lot of momentum by winning the tournament," Bonaventura continued. "[We] are happy for him and it was a testament to his hard work throughout the year."

The Newton, Pennsylvania native opened his tournament with his sixth technical fall of the season, topping Wilkes University's Andrew Rivera 19-3 at the time of the third-period stoppage. Schneider ranked third on the team in tech falls. 

The 149-pounder blanked Washington & Lee's Will Medick 4-0 in the second round, before earning a 10-5 decision over Gettysburg's Phil Angelo to reach the championship bout. Schneider capped his championship run with a spirited 11-9 decision over York's Tim Sparks. Schneider topped Sparks in a sudden-victory period earlier this season at the Ned McGinley Invitational. He finishes the season with 17 victories with 10 of the wins coming with bonus points.

In total, Stevens sent six wrestlers to the tournament, with senior Michael Heck, joining Schneider and classmates Jarrett Weir, Anthony Lanza, Nico Ziccardi and Douglas Chacon at the event.

Heck concluded his career on Castle Point by finishing fourth at 125, while Lanza add a victory at 165 via major decision to his season total. Ziccardi collected a first-period pin of Muhlenberg's Adam Lizak en route to placing sixth at 174 to conclude the day.

Up Next: Wrestling heads to Brockport, New York for the Mideast Region Championships on Feb. 23-24. 

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