PALO ALTO, Calif. – The University of Pennsylvania wrestling team split a pair of duals in the Golden State on Sunday, hammering Cal Poly, 32-13, before coming up one point short against host Stanford in a 21-20 loss.
 
Stanford Recap
The Quakers found themselves trailing by six points with one match remaining against the Cardinal, but the Red and Blue had the right wrestler on the mat in freshman Gianni Ghione. Earlier in the day, Ghione had picked up his sixth pin of the season – and his third first-period fall – and he did everything but pin his opponent en route to a 21-5 technical fall win over Anthony Le.
 
Penn was in search of the fall after a tough break at 125 pounds. With the dual meet tied at 15-15, freshman Daniel Planta was pinned in the first period by Gabriel Townsell. The two wrestlers were locked in an upperbody tie when Townsell slammed Planta hard to the mat, securing the fall while an injured Planta was unable to recover.
 
Penn held a 15-12 lead – its only lead of the dual – after a pin from No. 15 Frank Mattiace at 197 pounds over No. 16 Nathan Traxler. After a scoreless first period, Traxler took bottom for the second and Mattiace made him pay with a tight power half that first secured nearfall then found the pin for the win – Mattiace's second pin of the day.
 
Senior heavyweight Patrik Garren held No. 14 Nathan Butler to a decision victory which tied the match, 15-15. Garren was injured in the third period, but gutted his way through the final 30 seconds to save valuable team points.
 
Stanford's saving of team points earlier in the dual ultimately was the difference. A pair of Penn victories were the dreaded "seven-point wins" and either of those bonus points would have led to a Penn win on criteria following Ghione's win at 133. May Bethea won at 165, 15-8, conceding a late takedown to negate the major. At 184 pounds, Joe Heyob was in control, 7-0, and holding riding time before Austin Flores escaped late in the match to make the final score 8-1 and stave off the major decision.
 
Cal Poly Recap
The Red and Blue put the gas down early against the Mustangs, building a 17-0 lead and never looking back. The Quakers won seven of the nine contested matches, picking up bonus points in four of them with three first-period pins along the way.
 
Jake Lizak started the pinfall parade with a quick stick of Jake Douglas in 0:23 at 141 pounds. Joe Oliva (6-4) and Jon Errico (11-8) followed with close decision victories before May Bethea made the Penn lead 17-0 with a tech fall over Ryan Farina with a 17-2 win in 4:08.
 
Cal Poly got on the board with a win at 174, but Penn slammed the door with wins from its two ranked wrestlers. No. 17 Joe Heyob picked up a 7-3 decision at 184 before Mattiace secured his first pin of the day at 197 to give Penn a 26-4 lead. Cal Poly would win at heavyweight and take a forfeit win at 125 before Ghione found his fall at 0:54 to cap the convincing win.
 
Penn defeats Cal Poly, 32-13
141: Jake Lizak (Penn) FALL Jake Douglas (CP), 0:23 Penn leads, 6-0
149: Joe Oliva (Penn) DEC Joshua Cortez (CP), 6-4 Penn leads, 9-0
157: Jon Errico (Penn) DEC Jett Moy (CP), 11-8 Penn leads, 12-0
165: May Bethea (Penn) TF Ryan Farina (CP), 17-2 (4:08) Penn leads, 17-0
174: Mathew Whilelm (CP) MD Khamari Whimper (Penn), 14-1 Penn leads, 17-4
184: No. 17 Joe Heyob (Penn) DEC Sohrab Movahedi (CP), 7-3 Penn leads, 20-4
197: No. 15 Frank Mattiace (Penn) FALL Ryan Anderson (CP), 2:03 Penn leads, 26-4
285: Spencer Empey (CP) DEC Patrik Garren (Penn), 5-2 Penn leads, 26-7
125: Yoshi Funakoshi (CP) wins via forfeit Penn leads, 26-13
133: Gianni Ghione (Penn) FALL Tyler Schilling (CP), 0:54 Penn leads, 32-13
 
Stanford def. Penn, 21-20
141: Isaiah Locsin (Stanford) DEC Jake Lizak (Penn), 3-0 Stanford leads, 3-0
149: Joe Oliva (Penn) DEC Jake Barry (Stanford), 6-1 Match tied, 3-3
157: Paul Fox (Stanford) DEC Joe Velliquette (Penn), 5-3 Stanford leads, 6-3
165: May Bethea (Penn) DEC Jared Hill (Stanford), 15-8 Match tied, 6-6
174: No. 12 Keaton Subjeck (Stanford) FALL Khamari Whimper (Penn), 4:22 Stanford leads, 12-6
184: No. 17 Joe Heyob (Penn) DEC Austin Flores (Stanford), 8-1 Stanford leads, 12-9
197: No. 15 Frank Mattiace (Penn) FALL Nathan Traxler (Stanford), 4:35 Penn leads, 15-12
285: No. 14 Nathan Butler (Stanford) DEC Patrik Garren (Penn), 8-2 Match tied, 15-15
125: Gabriel Townsell (Stanford) FALL Daniel Planta (Penn), 0:57 Stanford leads, 21-15
133: Gianni Ghione (Penn) TF Anthony Le (Stanford), 21-5 Stanford leads, 21-20
 
The Quakers return to action on January 13 at the Shorty Hitchcock Memorial Classic at Millersville before an EIWA dual meet at Army West Point on January 14 at 2 p.m.