Biography
2014-15
Earned All-American honors for the first time with a third place finish at 184 lbs… ended the year with a 34-7 record with three falls and nine major decisions, with all of his losses coming to wrestlers ranked in the top eight … also a standout in the classroom and was named to the NWCA All-Academic team … went in to his third trip to Nationals as the third seed and upset four higher seeds … after a 3-0 decision over Nikko Reyes of Illinois in his opening match, he defeated returning All-American and No. 4 seed Jack Dechow of Old Dominion in the second round, 3-3 in two tiebreakers with riding time the deciding factor … in the quarterfinals, won a 14-5 major decision over fifth-seeded Taylor Meeks of Oregon State … faced top-seeded Gabe Dean of Cornell in the semifinals, again going to two tiebreakers tied at 3-3, with riding time again proving the difference in favor of Dean, who would win the national championship …. came back to win two more upsets to capture third place, a 4-2 decision over No. 6 seed Hayden Zillmer of North Dakota State, and a 3-2 decision over Arizona State’s Blake Stauffer, the number three seed, in the third place match … won his second EWL title, winning a 9-1 major decision over Lock Haven’s Fred Garcia in the title match, and picked up his second PSAC crown with a 5-2 decision over Garcia … captured fifth place at the Midlands Championships, going 5-2 … reached the quarterfinals before dropping a 5-3 decision in sudden victory to second-ranked Lorenzo Thomas of Penn … came back to win two more matches, including a 5-3 decision in sudden victory over 18th-ranked Ricky Robertson of Wisconsin, before losing to eighth-ranked Sam Brooks of Iowa in two tiebreakers, 7-6 … won 3-2 decision over Reyes in the fifth place match … faced Dean in the Grapple at the Garden, dropping a 3-1 decision … handed tenth-ranked Kenny Courts of Ohio State a 4-1 defeat … won championship at Clarion Open.
2013-14
Battled through an injury-filled campaign to earn a second trip to Nationals … ended the year with a 25-7 record with three falls and 10 major decisions … went 2-2 at Nationals … upset fifth-seeded Ethan Lofthouse of Iowa in his first match 5-3 before dropping a 5-3 decision to third-seeded Ophir Bernstein of Brown in his next match … won an 11-7 decision over Eastern Michigan’s Phillip Joseph in the wrestlebacks before being eliminated by Pittsburgh’s Max Thomusseit, the fourth seed, by a 7-6 decision … ended the year ranked 13th by TheOpenMat.com, 15th by InterMat, along with 13th by WIN and 18th by the WrestlingReport.com … missed the first month of the season after suffering an ankle injury in the season-opening MSU Open … won his first EWL championship with an impressive 8-2 decision over Fred Garcia of Lock Haven … at one point won 11 matches in a row before dropping back-to-back matches, including a 4-1 decision to Thomusseit … took second place at PSAC Championships, winning a pair of major decisions before medically forfeiting in finals … took eighth place at the Midlands Championships as he again forfeited a pair of matches due to injuries … won the Mt. Union Red Raider Open and was second at the Edinboro Open.
2012-13
Redshirted … placed in no fewer than six open events at 184 lbs., including a first place finish at the CSU Open … ended the year with a 26-9 record … most impressive showing came in the Midlands Championships, as he finished sixth in the prestigious event … went 4-3 at Midlands, with two of the losses to sixth-ranked Jimmy Sheptock, including a 3-2 sudden victory setback in the fifth place match … defeated 11th-ranked Tony Dallago of Illinois by a 6-2 decision … also claimed a 6-4 decision over Iowa’s Sammy Brooks … was also fourth at the Nittany Lion Open, winning his first three matches before falling to eventual national Ed Ruth of Penn State … took home third place at the Edinboro Open, Mat Town Open and MSU Open.
2011-12
Was named to InterMat’s All-Freshman Team after earning a trip to Nationals as a true freshman … posted a 24-15 record with five major decisions … went 1-2 in first trip to NCAA’s, winning first match 9-3 over Iowa State’s Boaz Beard before losing twice, including to third-seeded Ben Bennett of Central Michigan … took second place at EWL Championships, dropping a 2-1 decision to 17th-ranked Matt Ryan of West Virginia in the finals … had won a 3-2 decision over Ryan in the dual meet two weeks earlier … won the PSAC Championship with an 8-3 decision over Clarion’s Steven Cressley … added a third place finish at the Michigan State Open (freshman & sophomore division) and the a fourth place at the UB Open … went 2-2 at the Midlands Tournament and was 2-2 at the Las Vegas Invitational.
HIGH SCHOOL
Enjoyed an outstanding career for head coach Jim Fraser at Foxboro High School, where he was a three-time state place-winner ... ranked sixth by Wrestling USA, 10th by WIN?Magazine and 11th by InterMat at 189 lbs. … finished with a 153-20 career record, winning the New England Championship and Massachusetts state championship as a senior and placing second at the NHSCA Senior Nationals while competing at 189 lbs… was 53-1 as a senior, ending the year ranked 10th by WIN Magazine and 11th by InterMat … went 4-0 at New England Championships, with three major decisions … won 13-3 major decision over Brandon Riggins for title … won MIAA state title with 7-2 decision over Kyle Humphries of East Longmeadow … had a 40-4 record as a junior while wrestling at 160 lbs… finished second at the Massachusetts state championship and the New England Championships, along with winning the sectional title … placed eighth at the NHSCAA Junior Nationals … was 40-5 as a sophomore at 135 lbs., taking fifth place at state championships … had a 20-10 record as a freshman.
PERSONAL
Born May 10, 1993 … Business Administration major with a 3.21 GPA … son of Philomena Mantella and Bob Avery … has two brothers (Nick and Vince) … father played football at Syracuse and brother Nick wrestled at Indiana University, while uncle was an NCAA Division I finalist ... Edinboro Scholar-Athlete.
