Complete Results
The Wilkes University wrestling team had an impressive showing at the fifth-annual John Reese Duals, winning three of four matches. The Colonels posted wins over NYU, Scranton and Centenary while falling to Cortland.
In the opening match, Wilkes took a 31-6 victory over fellow Metro Conference member NYU as it won all but two bouts in the contest.
Scott Mantua (Clarksville, MD/River Hill) gave the Colonels a 3-0 start at 125 with a 5-2 win over Kyle Christensen. NYU would bounce back to win the next two bouts to take a 6-3 lead, but Wilkes would score 28 unanswered points the rest of the way.
At 149,
Nathan White (Ellicott City, MD/River Hill) took a 3-0 lead over Gabe Gleason before
James Histed (Lake Ariel, Pa./Bishop O'Hara) won his bout 4-1 over David Rice to give the Colonels a 9-6 lead.
Ben Marich (Kempton, PA/Northwestern Lehigh) continued the winning ways for Wilkes at 165 before
Frank Heffernan (Slatington, Pa./Northern Lehigh) recorded the first pin of the day over Steve Massey at 174 in 2:08 which gave the Colonels an 18-6 lead.
Jesse Villella (Port Crane, NY/Chenango Forks), competing at the 184-pound division for the first time this season, took a 4-3 win before
Zach Pizarro (Easton, Pa./Easton) pinned Jamie Myers in 4:08 at 197.
Andrew Feldman (Shavertown, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) picked up his fourth-straight win after beating Justin Murberg 12-2.
In the second match, the Colonels were pitted against Cortland that featured a pair of two top-25 teams. The match went back and fourth before Cortland won four-straight bouts to secure the 21-9 win. Jared Lemik took a close 6-5 win over Mantua at 125, handing the Colonel wrestler his first loss of the season.
Ryan Wilson (Manasquan, NJ/Wall Township) tied the match at three with a 4-0 win over Dave Dolaginvanni, but Al Sterling would give Cortland the lead once again when he defeated
Kris Krawchuk (Slatington, PA/Northern Lehigh) 4-2.
Stephen Perez gave Cortland back-to-back wins before
James Histed (Lake Ariel, Pa./Bishop O'Hara) took a 6-4 win, closing the gap to 9-6. Unfortunately Cortland would win the next four bouts to take a 21-6 lead before Feldman beat Joe Murphy, who is currently ranked No. 8 in the country, 3-1.
After dropping their first dual match of the season, the Colonels bounced back to route Scranton 43-0.
AJ Fisher (Villas, NJ/St. Augustine Prep), Villella and Feldman recorded pins for Wilkes, while White,
Dustin Stough (Friendsville, MD/Northern Garrett) both recorded shutout victories.
In their final match of the day, the Colonels won five-straight bouts that would eventually lead to a 31-9 win over Centenary. Mantua started the winning ways with an 8-5 victory over Jose Vega before Wilson won his bout 2-1 over Anthony Bachmann.
Anthony Dattolo (Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury) picked up his first win of the day at 141 when he defeated David Alsieux 1-0, giving Wilkes a 9-0 lead.
Krawchuk also picked up his first win of the day with his 3-2 victory over Glen Cannici before Histed won his seventh-straight match of the season to give Wilkes a 15-0 lead. Matt Regan put Centenary on the board with a 5-1 win at 165, but Stough quickly gave the Colonels the momentum once again with a pin in 4:24. Heffernan tallied a major decision win over JJ Mitchell at 184 before Pizarro picked up his second pin of the day at 197.
The Colonels are now 4-1 on the year and will travel out of state next weekend when they compete in the Buckeye/Keystone Challenge in Columbus, Ohio.
