The NYU men’s wrestling team was dominant en route to a 38-6 drubbing of Hunter College on Friday. The lopsided win comes just a year after the team came up short against the Hawks, and it is exactly what the Grapplers needed to get back on track after two straight weekends of disappointing performances. They pushed their record to 4-1 in head-to-head matchups in the 2015-2016 season.

Junior Nathan Pike, who has led the way for the Grapplers this season, beat out Hunter’s Jayden Rice in a 6-2 decision in the 133-pound division. Both Pike and Rice went into the match knowing the other was an NCAA qualifier. Pike has continued his stellar season. He’s now 11-2 on the season.

“Our match against Hunter was particularly important to us because we lost to them last year,” Pike said. “This year we went out and we dominated. A lot of our wrestlers got bonus points and you could tell that everyone went out there to wrestle.”

The Grapplers had solid performances turned in by freshman Ian Burke and sophomore Anthony Calvano. Burke won his decision 17-2, pushing his record just over .500 for the year at 8-6. Calvano, a transfer from George Mason University, picked up a technical fall, scoring 16-0 over his opponent. Sophomore Raymond Jazikoff continued to be a standout for the team in his second season, picking up a 14-4 major decision in the 157-pound weight class.

The wrestling team is one of the few teams that will not have their season completely interrupted by winter break. They’ll be back on the mats next weekend, Dec. 12. They’ll get a week off after that and then return again on Dec. 29, looking to improve upon what has been a good head-to-head season but a subpar season at
large meets.

Email Bobby Wagner at [email protected].