COLLEGEVILLE, PA. – Cortland, ranked 14th nationally in Division III, posted a 3-1 record at the North-South Duals, hosted by Ursinus College. The Red Dragons opened with a 33-7 victory over Johns Hopkins University before losing to nationally fifth-ranked Wisconsin-La Crosse, 28-18. Cortland finished the day with wins over McDaniel College, 43-6, and Gettysburg College, 41-4, and is now 5-3 in dual matches this season.

Senior 125-pounder Peppy Cabrera (Brentwood) went 4-0 on the day with a pin, a technical fall and two major decisions. Senior Paul LeBlanc (Morrisville/Morrisville-Eaton), ranked first nationally at 149 pounds, was 3-0 with a pin and a technical fall and sophomore Aljamain Sterling (Uniondale) went 3-0 with a technical fall and two major decisions at 133 pounds.

Junior Mike Ciaburri (Palmyra/Palmyra-Macedon) finished 3-1 on the day with a pin and two technical falls  at 174 pounds and junior Martino Sottile (Brentwood) was 3-1 with a major decision at 197 pounds.

Cortland won six of the first seven matches versus Johns Hopkins, including major decisions by Cabrera and Sterling, technical falls by LeBlanc and Ciaburri and a pin at 157 pounds by freshman Eric Ekstrom (Palmyra/Palmyra-Macedon) to take a commanding 27-3 lead. Sottile and junior Joe Murphy (St. James/Smithtown) finished the match with wins at 197 pounds and heavyweight, respectively.

The Red Dragons jumped out to a 18-6 lead versus Wisconsin-La Crosse after five matches behind pins by Cabrera and LeBlanc and decisions by sophomore Stephen Perez (Bronx/Francis Lewis) and freshman Jon Senese (Hauppauge). La Crosse – the alma mater of Cortland head coach Brad Bruhn – responded with wins in the final five matches, including three by nationally ranked wrestlers, to earn the victory.

Cortland dominated its next two matches. The Red Dragons won the first nine bouts versus McDaniel, featuring pins by junior Kevin Sackett (Webster/Webster Thomas), Senese and Ciaburri and major decisions by Cabrera, Sterling, sophomore Joey Widrick (Castorland/Beaver River) and Sottile. In the Gettysburg match, Cabrera and Sterling opened with technical falls, Widrick earned a major decision and LeBlanc won by forfeit to stake the Red Dragons to an early 20-0 lead. Cortland also won the last five tilts, including a major decision by junior Will Brodfuehrer (Canastota) and a Ciaburri technical fall.
 
Cortland Match Results

Cortland 33, Johns Hopkins 7

125 – Peppy Cabrera (CORT) major dec. Adam Stevens, 9-1
133 – Aljamain Sterling (CORT) major dec. Michael Testa, 13-0
141 – Rocky Barilla (JHU) dec. Joe Moran, 3-2
149 – Paul LeBlanc (CORT) tech. fall Gross, 2:35 (16-0)
157 – Eric Ekstrom (CORT) pinned William Selba, 4:01
165 – Cory Mahoney (CORT) dec. Eric Levenseller, 8-3
174 – Mike Ciaburri (CORT) tech. fall Andrew Brochu, 6:41 (17-1)
184 – Hector Cintron (JHU) major dec. George Dobrovosky, 10-3
197 – Martino Sottile (CORT) dec. Tyler Schmidt, 7-2
HWT – Joe Murphy (CORT) dec. Matt Rugani, 6-0

UW-La Crosse 28, Cortland 18

125 – Peppy Cabrera (CORT) pinned Jonny Brennan, time n/a
133 – Pat Parrillo (UWL) pinned Dave Colagiovanni, time n/a
141 – Stephen Perez (CORT) dec. Alex Dahl, 4-0
149 – Paul LeBlanc (CORT) pinned Zeb Secrist, time n/a
157 – Jon Senese (CORT) dec. Ryan Farwell, 9-7
165 – Cory Ferguson (UWL) major dec. Will Brodfuehrer, 13-0
174 – Mike Schmitz (UWL) dec. Mike Ciaburri, 7-3
184 – Josh Zabel (UWL) pinned George Dobrovosky, time n/a
197 – Andy Moore (UWL) dec. Martino Sottile, 7-1
HWT – Dan Laurent (UWL) pinned Joe Murphy, time n/a

Cortland 43, McDaniel 6

125 – Peppy Cabrera (CORT) major dec. Sean Ensign, 14-2
133 – Aljamain Sterling (CORT) major dec. Peter Caruso, 9-1
141 – Joey Widrick (CORT) major dec. Sean McGarry, 10-2
149 – Kevin Sackett (CORT) pinned Tom Boehm, 4:08
157 – Jon Senese (CORT) pinned Matt Peters, 5:20
165 – Eric Ekstrom (CORT) dec. Zach Hetrick, 3-2
174 – Mike Ciaburri (CORT) pinned Courtney Nightengale, 4:33
184 – George Dobrovosky (CORT) won by forfeit
197 – Martino Sottile (CORT) major dec. Will Yeo, 13-4
HWT – Brock Glotfelty (MCD) pinned Joe Murphy, 1:42

Cortland 41, Gettysburg 4

125 – Peppy Cabrera (CORT) tech. fall Connor Taylor, 16-0 (time n/a)
133 – Aljamain Sterling (CORT) tech. fall Jack Bostrom, 16-0 (time n/a)
141 – Joey Widrick (CORT) major dec. Michael Slabinski, 17-7
149 – Paul LeBlanc (CORT) won by forfeit
157 – Andrew Goldstein (GETTY) major dec. Cory Mahoney, 16-6
165 – Will Brodfuehrer (CORT) major dec. Anthony Iorio, 14-4
174 – Mike Ciaburri (CORT) tech. fall Luke Mitchell, 18-3 (time n/a)
184 – George Dobrovsky (CORT) dec. Jon Paul, 4-3
197 – Martino Sottile (CORT) won by forfeit
HWT – Joe Murphy (CORT) dec. Bobby Christopher, 6-5

Cortland Exhibition Matches (results count toward individual records)

133 - Matt Volpe (York, PA) dec. Nick Tonini, 2-0
141 – Rob Lavoie (Ursinus) dec. Nick Tonini, 15-9
141 – Mike Pagano dec. Chris Rulan (Johns Hopkins), 6-0
141 – Matt Lindsay (Delaware Valley) pinned Mike Pagano, 3:45
141 – John Cataldo dec. Chris Hardenburg (Messiah), 6-2
141 – Joe Moran dec. Chris Hardenburg (Messiah), 3-2
149 – Kevin Sackett tech. fall Kevin Delawder (Messiah), 18-3 (time n/a)
149 – Stephen Perez dec. Dale Fava (Delaware Valley), 10-8 (ot, sv)