BELMONT, N.C. — The Belmont Abbey wrestling team closed out its home schedule with an emphatic win on Senior Night as the Crusaders defeated No. 19 UNC Pembroke 34-10 Friday evening at the Wheeler Center.
The Crusaders won eight of the 10 bouts contested over the Braves and earned two pins, including one from
John Carayiannis to close out the match.
Prior to the match, nine seniors were honored in a ceremony for their contributions to the program. They are:
Elijah Boyd,
Paul Jakub,
Marcus Harnarain,
Joshua Atkinson,
Connor Billingsley,
Maxwell Kiel,
Justin Wright,
Mason Kump and
John Carayiannis.
Belmont Abbey is now 7-7 overall, 7-1 in Conference Carolinas competition. UNC Pembroke is now 8-6 overall, 6-2 in the league.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After UNC Pembroke won by pin in the opening bout at 157, Christian Arrington got the Crusaders on the board with his win over Aspen Talbot via decision.
- Arrington's win was the first of four in a row by the Abbey as Kiel followed that with a major decision win at 174.
- Kyler Pickard won by tech fall at 184 and Caleb Moore helped the Crusaders take control with a pin 2:28 into his bout with Chris Dickey.
- After the Braves earned a major decision win in the heavyweight division, Belmont Abbey closed out the match with four straight wins.
- Brett Balzan earned a win via major decision followed by victories from Boyd and Luke Kunath.
- Carayiannis closed out the match with a pin just 1:35 into his bout.
UP NEXT
- The Crusaders close out the regular season with a match at Coker starting at 5 p.m. in Hartsville, S.C.
- A victory next week would give Belmont Abbey a chance of advancing to the Conference Carolinas Championships.
