Sunday, February 16, 2020 – 11 a.m.
Rider Broncs (10-3, 6-1 MAC) vs. Clarion Golden Eagles (8-5, 5-3 MAC)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Alumni Gymnasium
Tickets – GoBroncsTix.com
Live Video – ESPN+
Live Twitter Updates – Twitter.com/RiderWrestling

What You Need To Know
- The Rider University wrestling team hosts MAC foe Clarion on Sunday morning at Alumni Gym. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
- The match is the Broncs' final home dual of the season.
- The Broncs lead the all-time series with Clarion, 16-4, including a 24-10 win last season in Lawrenceville. The home team has won each of the last five duals in the series.
- A loss last time out to Rutgers in front of a sold out Alumni Gym crowd snapped Rider's seven-match winning streak.
- The Golden Eagles travel to Rider following a Friday home match against Kent State.
- Clarion features three ranked wrestlers in Brock Zacherl (149 – 12^th in Coaches Panel, 11^th in RPI), Greg Bulsak (197 – 15^th in Coaches Panel, 11^th in RPI) and Tyler Bagoly (285, 28^th in Coaches Panel, 22^nd in RPI).
- Seven Rider wrestlers are ranked in the latest rankings released by the NCAA. Jesse Dellavecchia (157), Dean Sherry (174) and Ethan Laird (197) are all ranked in both the NCAA Division I Wrestling Coaches Panel Rankings and the RPI, with Dellavecchia coming in at sixth in the Coaches Panel and seventh in the RPI. Sherry is 20^th and 13^th, respectively, and Laird is 12^th and 13^th, respectively. Peter Lipari (141) is ranked 29^th in the Coaches Panel, while the RPI has Jonathan Tropea (125) and George Walton (184) both at No. 30 and Richie Koehler (133) at 33.
- The Broncs were ranked in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Poll as recently as three weeks ago. Earlier in the season, Rider ranked as highly as No. 20 in the nation.
- FloWrestling has ranked Rider No. 1 in the MAC using individual rankings and a tournament scoring rubric that does not factor in bonus points. Meanwhile, the most recent MAC Coaches Rankings have Rider second.
- Rider had won seven-straight duals prior to a Feb. 9 setback to Rutgers, including wins over Duke, Maryland and then-No. 22 Virginia in winning its first-ever championship at the 40^th Annual Virginia Duals. The Broncs' momentum continued with victories over MAC foes Edinboro, Old Dominion, George Mason and Lock Haven.
- In the win over Lock Haven on Feb. 7, the Broncs trailed throughout before winning the final four bouts to take the 20-17, come-from-behind victory.  
- Jesse Dellavecchia has won his last eight matches and has a team-best 25 wins so far this season. Included in the mark was a 1-0 decision in his most-recent match over Old Dominion's Larry Early, who was ranked No. 12 in the nation, had won eight-straight matches and was the reigning MAC East Division Wrestler of the Week entering the bout.
- Peter Lipari had won his last six matches, prior to a setback Feb. 7 to Lock Haven's Kyle Shoop, ranked No. 20 nationally. Included in his six-match winning streak was a 5-4 decision over Old Dominion's Sa'Derian Perry, who was ranked No. 1 at 141 lbs. by the MAC's Coaches, both before and after the match. The win avenged a major decision loss in the Journeyman Classic Championship match in November, before Lipari had joined the Broncs.
- Peter Lipari, Jesse Dellavecchia and Dean Sherry each went 3-0 at the Virginia Duals, while Jonathan Tropea and Joe Casey posted 2-0 marks. 
- Rider earned a statement victory over then-No. 6 Minnesota on Nov. 15. In the upset victory, Dean Sherry pinned nationally-ranked No. 6 Devin Skatzka. For his performance, Sherry was named MAC East Division Wrestler of the Week.
- The Broncs also had strong tournament showings at the Princeton Open, Keystone Classic and Southern Scuffle. The Broncs placed eight on the podium in Princeton and 12 more at the Keystone Classic, with Jesse Dellavecchia winning the title at both events. George Walton also took the title at 184 at the Keystone Classic. Dellavecchia, Laird and Sherry each reached the podium at the Southern Scuffle, placing second, third and sixth, respectively.  
- Dellavecchia was named Rider Athlete of the Month for November and January. 
- Rider, along with its six other former Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) teams joined the Mid-American Conference (MAC) for 2019-20, creating a 15-team league that's the second-largest in NCAA Division I wrestling. The Broncs now face tough new competition from the likes of perennially top-ranked Missouri, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Old Dominion, Ohio and Northern Illinois.
- Rider returns four national qualifiers this season in Dean Sherry, who made his second-straight NCAA Championship appearance at 174 last year, along with Anthony Cefolo, Jesse Dellavecchia and Ethan Laird.
- Sherry and Laird both won EWL titles last year, while Cefolo and Dellavecchia finished as runners-up.
- The Broncs were picked fourth in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll, while five Broncs were ranked in the top six in their weight classes, led by Ethan Laird in the top spot at 197. Dean Sherry was picked second at 174, Jesse Dellavecchia and Anthony Cefolo took third at 157 and 125, respectively, while Chris Wright took sixth at 133.
- The 2020 MAC Championships will take place March 7-8 at Northern Illinois. 
- A Rider wrestler has achieved All-American status on 17 occasions, including 15 different wrestlers. Current assistant coaches Chad Walsh and Ryan Wolfe were the last Broncs to earn All-American in 2017.