NCAA Division I wrestling championships: How Long Islanders fared

The 2019 NCAA Division I wrestling championships began Thursday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. Here’s a look at how Long Islanders fared on Day 1 of the Tournament.

Nick Piccininni

Oklahoma State, 125 pounds 

Thursday: The Ward Melville product and No. 2 seed at 125 pounds was one of four Cowboys to advance to the quarterfinals. Piccininni, earned a 16-0 technical fall victory over Campbell’s Korbin Meink in the first round before a 13-2 major decision over Indiana’s Elijah Oliver.

Friday: Piccininni, a redshirt junior, won a 9-5 decision over No. 7 Pat Glory of Princeton in a quarterfinal. He earned All-American status with that win. Piccininni fell to No. 3 Spencer Lee of Iowa via 11-4 decision in the semifinal later in the night and will face Syosset product Vito Arujau (Cornell) on Saturday.

Vito Arujau

Cornell, 125 pounds 

Thursday: The four-time state champion from Syosset High School started the tournament with a 12-2 bonus point win over No. 25-seeded Malik Heinselman of Ohio State in Thursday’s opening round. Vito Arujau, the No. 8 seed at 125 pounds, went on to beat No. 9 seed RayVon Foley of Michigan State in a 12-2 major decision in the second round.

Friday: Arujau lost to Northwestern’s Sebastian Rivera, the top seed, in a quarterfinal, 6-2. He then defeated Sean Fausz of N.C. State (11-3 major decision) and Ronnie Bresser of Oregon State (8-5 decision) to face Ward Melville's Nick Piccininni in the next round on Saturday.

Anthony Sparacio

Binghamton, 141 pounds

Thursday: North Babylon alum Sparacio, the No. 27 seed at 141 pounds, lost to No. 6 Michael Carr of Illinois, 8-2, in Thursday’s opening round. The junior went on to face No. 11 Tristan Moran of Wisconsin in the consolation round, but fell 7-4, ending his run at the tournament.

Jesse Dellavecchia

Rider, 165 pounds

Thursday: East Islip High School alum Dellavecchia opened the tournament with a 9-2 decision over Navy’s Tanner Skidgel at 165 pounds. Dellavecchia, the No. 14 seed at 165, lost to No. 3 seed Josh Shiels of Arizona State by a 14-4 major decision.

Nick Piccininni of @CowboyWrestling with a first period fall! #NCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/x5W8zD0Kmh

— NCAA Wrestling (@ncaawrestling) March 21, 2019

Friday: The junior won by decision, 14-6, over No. 29 Nick Kiussis of West Virginia in the consolation bracket to stay alive. Dellavecchia then lost by decision to No. 6 Logan Massa of Michigan, 11-3, in the next round.

Shakur Rasheed, Penn State, 184 pounds 

Thursday: Despite nearly getting pinned in the first round by Princeton’s Kevin Parker, the No. 31 seed at 184 pounds, Longwood High School alum Rasheed bounced back with three reversals to secure an 11-2 major decision. In the second round, Rasheed was up 5-2 over No. 15 seed Chip Ness out of North Carolina, but Ness earned six points with a late scrambling move to secure an 8-5 victory and hand Rasheed his first loss of the season.

Friday: The senior got a 9-1 major decision victory over Kent State’s Andrew McNally in the consolation bracket. Rasheed then lost a 4-2 decision to No. 26 Dakota Geer of Oklahoma State.

Tom Lane

Cal Poly, 197 pounds 

Thursday: The No. 21 seed at 197 pounds from Garden City pulled off two upsets to advance to Friday’s quarterfinal round. Lane, a sophomore, knocked off No. 12 Rocco Caywood of Army in an 8-3 decision in Thursday’s opening round. He went on to earn a 4-2 overtime victory over Iowa’s Jacob Warner, the No. 5 seed.

Vitali Arujau of @BigRedWrestling advances to the round of 16! #NCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/2guL1TFzfo

— NCAA Wrestling (@ncaawrestling) March 21, 2019

Friday: Lane took on No. 4 Patrick Brucki of Princeton in a quarterfinal. The two previously met in December 2017 at the Midlands, and Brucki won by injury default. In a closely contested rematch, Lane lost to Brucki by a 4-3 decision. His tournament ended in a 8-5 decision loss to Cornell’s Benjamin Honis in the consolation bracket later Friday.