MacKiernan perfect, Wrestling takes down Bridgewater State at Trinity Duals

HARTFORD, Connecticut - The American International College wrestling team went 1-2 at the Trinity Duals on Sunday, February 11, earning 13 bout wins, including a dominating 3-0 day by Jack MacKiernan at 174 as he won all three bouts by fall.

AIC opened against Rhode Island College, and was able to pick up three wins. Aaron Morocho put AIC on the board at 141, landing seven takedowns against Owen Roche to earn a 22-6 technical fall win at 6:18. At 165, Alfred MacNeill pinned Will Hunt at 2:47, and in the 174-pound bout, MacKiernan followed with a pin of Scott Lallas at 4:05 after just falling shy of a first-period pin. The final on the match favored Rhode Island College, 33-17.

The next opponent was Bridgewater State, and the Yellow Jackets dominated. Liam Pritchard Holland started at 125 with a 19-2 technical fall at 6:24 that might have ended sooner, given that Pritchard Holland scored 16 points in the first period alone. In the 141 bout, Jaron Andre had arguably the most impressive showing of the afternoon, landing seven takedowns in the first period as he tossed Alex Guaman Castro around for three minutes to secure five points for AIC with just 1:06 of riding time.

Luke Mangiafico added to AIC's tally at 149 with a 15-5 major decision win over Colin Hassett; Mangiafico scored three takedowns in the first to put the score out of reach quickly. The next contested bout was at 174, where MacKiernan pinned Shemar Armor at 2:43, and Tommy Caracciolo closed AIC's scoring by pinning Hayden Garland in the 197 match at the 3:25 mark with a brilliant reversal after selecting bottom to start the middle period. Joseph Aldrich, Kyrie Williams, and MacNeill all accepted forfeits at 133, 157, and 165, leading to a final score of 44-6.

AIC earned two more wins against host Trinity College, with MacKiernan finishing off a perfect day with his third pin. He needed just 50 seconds to put Dylan Sofield to the mat. Caracciolo added another win to his ledger as well, taking in a forfeit, to lead to the 34-12 final in Trinity's favor.

The Yellow Jackets return home Sunday, February 18 to face Plymouth State University in a dual at the Butova Gym.