BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Navy wrestling team (1-2) opened its early road slate with a commanding 27-13 victory over Appalachian State (0-1) before dropping a hard-fought 24-12 dual to 14th-ranked Rutgers (4-0) on Saturday at the Journeymen Collegiate Duals, hosted at Liberty High School in Bethlehem, Pa. The Midshipmen picked up three pins against the Mountaineers, highlighted by falls from Danny Wask, Payton Thomas and Spencer Lanosga, then battled through a ranked-heavy Scarlett Knights lineup where Wask and Kaemen Smith notched impressive bonus-point wins.
 
Navy vs. Appalachian State Recap
 
"I thought we came out a little flat in the Appalachian State dual," said Navy head coach Cary Kolat. "We started slow, weren't moving our feet and let it turn into a tight match early, but Danny [Wask] got the fall and our upper weights finished strong."
 
Andrew Binni, ranked 32nd nationally, opened the dual with a 4-2 decision over Cooper Foster at 125 pounds. Binni scored an early takedown and added an escape in the second period to give Navy a 3-0 lead.
 
Appalachian State tied the dual at 133 when Jarvis Little defeated Brendan Ferretti 12-6. Little used two early takedowns to take control and added another to seal the win late.
 
Navy regained the lead at 141 as 31st-ranked Caedyn Ricciardi handled Aldo Hernandez, 8-3. Ricciardi scored two takedowns and used strong defense in the third period to push the Mids ahead 6-3.
 
App State answered again at 149 when 33rd-ranked Kaden Keiser edged Kaemen Smith 4-2. Keiser took an early lead and held off Smith's late shot in the final seconds to even the dual 6-6. The Mountaineers grabbed their first lead at 157 after Jeremiah Price outlasted Jonathan Ley 3-2 in the second tiebreaker period. A late stall call on Ley gave Price the deciding point with two seconds left.
 
Dylan Elmore evened the match at 165 with a 4-2 decision over Anthony Conetta. Elmore scored a takedown in the second period and held off Conetta's late escape attempts to tie the dual 9-9.
 
Sixth-ranked Wask delivered the Mids' first bonus points of the season at 174 with a dominant first-period pin over Colt Campbell in 1:58. The fall gave Navy a 15-9 lead.
 
At 184, 32nd-ranked Tomas Brocker earned a 17-4 major decision for the Mountaineers over freshman Gage Yackee in his first collegiate start to cut the deficit to 15-13.
 
Navy clinched the dual at 197 when Payton Thomas pinned Logan Eller in 2:49. Thomas trailed early but rallied with a reversal and a turn to earn his second fall of the season.
 
Heavyweight Spencer Lanosga closed the night in emphatic fashion with a pin over 2025 NCAA qualifier Stephen Monchery in 1:20. Lanosga overcame an early six-point deficit to secure Navy's third fall of the night and a 27-13 final.
 
Navy vs. Appalachian State Match Results
125: #32 Andrew Binni (NAVY) dec. Cooper Foster, 4-2 // Navy 3, App State 0
133: Jarvis Little dec. Brendan Ferretti (NAVY), 12-6 // Navy 3, App State 3
141: #31 Caedyn Ricciardi (NAVY) dec. Aldo Hernandez, 8-3 // Navy 6, App State 3
149: #33 Kaden Keiser dec. Kaemen Smith (NAVY), 4-2 // Navy 6, App State 6
157: Jeremiah Price dec. Jonathan Ley (NAVY), 3-2 TB-2 // App State 9, Navy 6
165: Dylan Elmore (NAVY) dec. Anthony Conetta, 4-2 // Navy 9, App State 9
174: #6 Danny Wask (NAVY) fall Colt Campbell, 1:58 // Navy 15, App State 9
184: #32 Tomas Booker major Gage Yackee (NAVY), 17-4 // Navy 15, App State 13
197: #30 Payton Thomas (NAVY) fall Logan Eller, 2:49 // Navy 21, App State 13
285: #12 Spencer Lanosga (NAVY) fall Stephen Monchery, 1:20 // Navy 27, App State 13
 
Navy vs. No. 14 Rutgers Recap
 
"Against Rutgers, the final score doesn't tell the full story," remarked Kolat. "We dropped the first three bouts by a takedown and Rutgers scored first in nearly every match we lost, but our guys battled back. We tightened up in some positions and simply ran out of time in a few of those bouts. Danny [Wask] did what Danny does, he created momentum with his pace and pressure. We had our moments, but in the end, it wasn't enough to overcome the early deficit."

Binni built an early 4-1 lead over Ayden Smith with a first-period takedown and escape, but a late rally by Smith capped by a takedown in the final minute handed Binni a 6-5 defeat as Rutgers took a 3-0 lead.
 
Ferretti nearly upset seventh-ranked Dylan Shawver, battling back from a 3-0 deficit with an escape and a takedown in the second period to make it 4-3. Shawver answered with another takedown late and held on for a 7-5 decision to extend the Scarlet Knights' lead to 6-0.
 
Ricciardi took 13th-ranked Joseph Olivieri to sudden victory. Ricciardi erased an early deficit and forced overtime but Olivieri escaped in the tiebreaker to edge him 5-4.
 
Smith delivered a dominant 21-5 technical fall over 11th-ranked Andrew Clark. Smith trailed early but stormed back with a reversal and four-point near fall to close the first period. He piled up takedowns in the final two periods for his second-career ranked win, cutting Rutgers' lead to 9-5.
 
"Smith beating the 11th-ranked wrestler in the country gave us a spark," stated Kolat.
 
Ley was shut down by 25th-ranked Anthony White, who used strong top control and a late takedown to post a 9-1 major decision. Rutgers pushed the lead to 13-5.
 
Elmore dropped a 5-0 decision to Ryan Ford after being ridden out for most of the match, extending Rutgers' advantage to 16-5 before sixth-ranked Wask provided a spark.
 
Wask controlled his top-10 matchup with 10th-ranked Lenny Pinto from start to finish. He scored three takedowns, built nearly two minutes of riding time, and earned a 14-3 major decision to bring Navy within seven at 16-9.
 
Yackee earned the start at 184 and faced a tough test against 12th-ranked Shane Cartagena-Walsh, who recorded a 21-5 technical fall to make it 21-9.
 
Hall made his first dual start of the season against 20th-ranked Remy Cotton and scored two takedowns in the final period but fell short in an 8-6 decision as Rutgers clinched the dual.
 
Lanosga closed the dual with an overtime win over 17th-ranked Hunter Catka. After a scoreless first period both wrestlers traded escapes to send the bout into tiebreakers. Lanosga escaped in the final seconds then countered a late Catka shot for a takedown to win 5-2.
 
Up Next
Navy will close out the weekend tomorrow when it competes in the Journeymen Collegiate Classic tournament. Action is set to begin at 9 a.m.
 
Navy vs. No. 14 Rutgers Match Results
125: Ayden Smith dec. #32 Andrew Binni (NAVY), 6-5 // Rutgers 3, Navy 0
133: #7 Dylan Shawver dec. Brendan Ferretti (NAVY), 7-5 // Rutgers 6, Navy 0
141: #13 Joseph Olivieri dec. #31 Caedyn Ricciardi (NAVY), 5-4 // Rutgers 9, Navy 0
149: Kaemen Smith (NAVY) tech fall #11 Andy Clark, 21-5 // Rutgers 9, Navy 5
157: #25 Anthony White major Jonathan Ley (NAVY), 9-1 // Rutgers 13, Navy 5
165: Ryan Ford dec. Dylan Elmore (NAVY), 5-0 // Rutgers 16, Navy 5
174: #6 Danny Wask (NAVY) major Lenny Pinto, 14-3 // Rutgers 16, Navy 9
184: #12 Shane Cartagena-Walsh tech fall Gage Yackee (NAVY), 21-5 // Rutgers 21, Navy 9
197: #20 Remy Cotton dec. Zyan Hall (NAVY), 8-6 // Rutgers 24, Navy 9
285: #12 Spencer Lanosga (NAVY) dec. #17 Hunter Catka, 5-2 TB-2 // Rutgers 24, Navy 12