PHILADELPHIA, PA – The Rider wrestling team closed out the regular season Thursday night, dropping a hard-fought 22-18 decision at Penn in a back-and-forth dual that came down to the final bout. 

No. 15 Tyler Klinsky set the tone at 125 pounds, continuing his dominant season with an 18-2 technical fall in the second period. Klinsky finished the regular season a perfect 18-0 in dual matches and extended his winning streak to 15, giving the Broncs an early 5-0 advantage.

Penn responded with a major decision at 133 pounds to trim the lead to 5-4.

A top-15 clash followed at 141 pounds as No. 14 Elijah Griffin squared off with 2x All-American No. 9 CJ Composto. Griffin struck first, scoring early to carry a 3-1 lead into the second period. Griffin rolled through for a tilt to start the second period, earning two near-fall points to build his lead before Composto escaped to make it 5-2. An injury timeout gave Composto choice, and he selected bottom, escaping on the restart. A second injury timeout against Griffin awarded Composto a point to make it 5-3, and another quick escape trimmed the lead to 5-4. Composto closed the period with a takedown and rode out Griffin in the third, securing an 8-5 decision with the riding time point.

At 149 pounds, No. 33 Dylan Layton answered. After surrendering the first takedown and trailing 3-0 after one, Layton chipped away. He cut the deficit to 4-3 late in the second and chose neutral to start the third. Layton delivered with a snap-and-go-behind takedown to claim a gritty 6-3 win, putting Rider back on top 8-7.

Penn regained control with a technical fall at 157 and a major decision at 165, building a 16-8 lead.

Enrique Munguia provided a spark at 174 pounds. Munguia locked up a cradle and recorded a second-period fall, pulling the Broncs within two at 16-14 with three bouts remaining.

The Quakers added a decision at 184 to extend the margin to 19-14.

No. 14 Brock Zurawski kept Rider within striking distance at 197 pounds against Martin Cosgrove. After a scoreless first period, Zurawski exploded for nine points in the second, highlighted by a Jonesy tilt, to take a commanding 9-1 lead. He continued to push the pace in the third, adding two takedowns and riding time to earn a 16-3 major decision, cutting the team score to 19-18 heading into the heavyweight finale.

With the dual on the line at 285 pounds, Hogan Swenski battled John Pardo but fell 8-1, sealing the 22-18 victory for the Quakers.

Match Results
UPenn 22, Rider 18
125: #15 Tyler Klinsky (Rider) over Davis Motyka (Penn) (TF 18-3 6:20)
133: #13 Evan Mougalian (Penn) over Nieko Malone (Rider) (MD 11-3)
141: #9 CJ Composto (Penn) over #14 Elijah Griffin (Rider) (Dec 8-5)
149: #33 Dylan Layton (Rider) over Kelly Dunnigan (Penn) (Dec 6-4)
157: #12 Jude Swisher (Penn) over Gianni Maldonado (Rider) (TF 18-3 5:53)
165: #19 Sean Seefeldt (Penn) over Brendon Abdon (Rider) (MD 13-3)
174: Enrique Munguia (Rider) over Caden Bellis (Penn) (Fall 5:23)
184: Liam Carlin (Penn) over Giovanni Alejandro (Rider) (Dec 6-0)
197: #14 Brock Zurawski (Rider) over Martin Cosgrove (Penn) (MD 16-3)
285: John Pardo (Penn) over Hogan Swenski (Rider) (Dec 8-1)

Up Next
The Broncs now turn their focus to the next two weeks of preparation for the MAC Championships, set for March 6–7 and hosted by University at Buffalo.