ST. LOUIS, MO – Rider University wrestling graduate student Jesse Dellavecchia (Great River, NY/East Islip [Binghamton]) and senior Ethan Laird (Waterford, PA/General McLane) won twice each Thursday at NCAA Championships to advance to Friday's quarterfinals at Enterprise Center.

The No. 4 seed at 157 lbs., Dellavecchia opened the action with a 5-0 decision over North Carolina's Joshua McClure, before defeating 14^th-seeded Hunter Willits of Oregon State, 4-2, in the night session. Next up is a quarterfinal meeting with Penn State's Brady Berge, the No. 12 seed, who upset Iowa's Kaleb Young, 3-2, Thursday night.

The seventh-seeded heavyweight, Laird held off Buffalo's Sam Schuyler, 3-2, in the opening round, before soundly defeating North Carolina State's No. 10 seed, Deonte Wilson, 7-2, in the night session. Laird will face second-seeded Mason Parris of Michigan in Friday's quarterfinals.
 
Notes
- Rider sent six wrestlers to NCAA's – Dellavecchia, Laird, Jonathan Tropea (Harrington Park, NJ/Saint Joseph (Montvale)), Richie Koehler (Middletown, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy), McKenzie Bell (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway) and Jake Silverstein (Hauppauge, NY/Smithtown [Nebraska]).     
- Tropea (125 lbs.), Koehler (133 lbs.), Bell (141 lbs.) and Silverstein (165 lbs.) were each defeated in their first two matches, ending their tournament runs.
- On the year, Dellavecchia remains unbeaten at 9-0.
- Dellavecchia and Laird are vying to become Rider's next All-Americans, with 15 different former Broncs earning the honor a total of 17 times. No Bronc has ever reached the championship final.   
 
Full Rider NCAA Championship Results

125 - #31 Jonathan Tropea
1^st Round – Lost Dec. #2 vs. Sam Latona (Virginia Tech), 12-7
Cons. 1^st Rd. – Lost By Fall vs. #18 Noah Surtin (Missouri) at 5:20

133 - #24 Richie Koehler
1^st Round – Lost Maj. Dec. vs. #9 Michael McGee (Arizona State), 13-4
Cons. 1^st Rd. – Lost Dec. vs. #25 Jacob Rundell (Purdue), 7-4   
 
141 - #17 McKenzie Bell
1^st Round – Lost Maj. Dec. vs. #16 Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh), 17-3
Cons. 1^st Rd. – Lost Dec. vs. #32 Cayden Rooks (Indiana), 6-1

157 - #4 Jesse Dellavecchia
1^st Round – Won Dec. vs. #29 Joshua McClure (North Carolina), 5-0
Pre-Quarterfinals - Won Dec. vs. #13 Hunter Willits (Oregon State), 4-2
 
165 - #27 Jake Silverstein
1^st Round – Lost Dec. vs. #6 Keegan O'Toole (Missouri), 4-0
Cons. 1^st Rd. – Lost Dec. vs. #22 Kennedy Monday (North Carolina), 9-2
 
285 - #7 Ethan Laird – 2^nd Place
1^st Round – Won Dec. vs. #26 Sam Schuyler (Buffalo), 3-2
Pre-Quarterfinals – Won Dec. vs. #10 Deonte Wilson (North Carolina State), 7-2