Bair, Paolucci Earn All-MAC Honors

The Spartan men's wrestling team finished fifth out of six teams with two all-conference performers and seven total place winners at the Middle Atlantic Conference Championship on Saturday.

No. 20 Stevens won their fourth-straight team title with 166.5 points. No. 6 Alvernia came in second (158 pts.), Delaware Valley took third (118.5 pts.), Messiah finished fourth (100.5), York came in fifth (70.5 pts.) and King's rounded out the standings in sixth (53.5 pts.)

Seniors Nick Paolucci (149) and Jared Bair (157) earned all-conference honors for the Spartans with both wrestlers finishing third in their respective weight classes. This is the first All-MAC honor Paolucci, while Bair picked up his second after also finishing third in 2022.

Paulucci went 2-2 on the day and battled back from a loss to Pasquale Pizzoni (Stevens) in the semifinals. The Spartan senior went on to defeat Mike Rubino (Del Val) in the consolation semifinals, 9-5, before pinning Dalton Monger (Messiah) late in the first period to capture third place and all-conference status.

Bair finished 3-1 on the day and finished on a three-match win streak after beginning the day with a loss to No. 12 Jason Rezac (Alvernia) in the quarterfinals. Bair began his march back with a 15-4 victory over Brandon Flores (Alvernia) in the consolation quarterfinals, followed by a first-period fall over Brett Murphy (King's) in the consi semifinals. Bair ended the day by avenging his prior loss to Rezac with a pin in the third period to earn All-MAC accolades.

Jacob Kresicki (4th - 125), Justice Hockenberry (4th - 165), AJ DeVries (5th - 165), Derek Martin (5th - 285) and Logan Barkey (6th - 125) also made podium appearances for the Green and White. 

Since joining the MAC for the start of the 2022 season, the Spartans have accumulated a total of 10 all-conference awards.

York returns to the mat on Wednesday with a trip to Gettysburg for a dual meet with the Bullets at 7 p.m.

This story originally appeared on www.ycpspartans.com.