FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart men's wrestling team delivered a statement comeback performance on Saturday evening, storming back from an early deficit to take down Davidson in a 20-18 thriller at home. After falling behind 9-0 through the first three bouts, the Pioneers dug in, turned the momentum, and closed the dual with five wins in the final seven matches to lock up the victory.

Final Score:
Sacred Heart 20
Davidson 18

Dual Records:
Sacred Heart (1-2)
Davidson (0-2)

Of Note:

• Davidson jumped ahead early with decisions at 165, 174, and 184, but the Pioneers punched right back at 197, where Chris DeLena battled to a gritty 3-2 decision to get SHU on the board. 
• Heavyweight Brendan Gilchrist kept the surge going, grinding out a dramatic overtime sudden victory, 4-1, to pull the Pios within striking distance.
• After Davidson briefly extended its lead with a pin at 125, the Pioneers flipped the script—and the energy in the building. At 133, Braxton Fries-Appello ignited the crowd with a dominant 10-1 major decision, trimming the gap to 15-10.
• From there, Sacred Heart took over. At 141, John Hildebrandt put on an absolute clinic, rolling to a 16-1 tech fall in just four minutes to tie the dual at 15-15. 
• Davidson answered with a decision at 149, but the Pioneers refused to be denied.
• With the dual on the line at 157, Felix Lettini delivered the dagger—blasting through a 16-1 tech fall at 5:42 to seal the comeback victory and send the Pitt Center into celebration mode.

Individual Results:
165: Tanner Peake (DC) def. AJ Falcone (SHU) by Decision, 4-1                                        DC, 3-0
174: Marc Koch (DC) def. Aidan Zarrella (SHU) by Decision, 5-4                                      DC, 6-0
184: Cody Kirck (DC) def. Hunter Perez (SHU) by Decision, 7-2                                         DC, 9-0
197: Chris DeLena (SHU) def. Daniel Elyash (DC) by Decision, 3-2                               DC, 9-3
285: Brendan Gilchrist (SHU) def. DJ Spring (DC) by Sudden Victory-1, 4-1            DC, 9-6
125: Brady Joling (DC) def. Tyler Hildebrandt (SHU) by Fall (2:51)                                    DC, 15-6
133: Braxton Fries-Appello (SHU) def. Luke Passarelli (DC) by Major Decision, 10-1       DC, 15-10
141: John Hildebrandt (SHU) def. Kiyan Simon (DC) by Tech Fall, 16-1 (4:00)       DC, 15-15
149: Anderson Heap (DC) def. Dakota Asuncion (SHU) by Decision, 8-3                 DC, 18-15
157: Felix Lettini (SHU) Marley Washington (SHU) by Tech Fall, 16-1 (5:42)            SHU, 20-18
 
Up Next:
The Pioneers return to the mat on Sunday, Nov. 23, when they take part in the Big Red Invitational, hosted by Cornell.