Results

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – Six Wilkes wrestlers captured titles while five others finished either second or third as the Colonels won King's College Invitational team championship.

Scott Mantua (Clarksville, MD/River Hill) (125), Anthony Dattolo (Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury) (149), James Histed (Lake Ariel, Pa./Bishop O'Hara) (157), Ben Marich (Kempton, PA/Northwestern Lehigh) (165), Frank Heffernan (Slatington, Pa./Northern Lehigh) (174) and Zach Pizarro (Easton, Pa./Easton) (197) all claimed titles in their respective weight classes as Wilkes finished with 195 total points, 71.5 more points than Oneonta State, who finished second in the10-team event.

While Nathan White (Ellicott City, MD/River Hill) placed second in the 149-pound division, falling to teammate Dattolo, Jesse Vilella, Steve Falk, Kris Krawchuk (Slatington, PA/Northern Lehigh) and Ryan Wilson (Manasquan, NJ/Wall Township) all finished third for the Colonels.

Mantua, seeded third in the 125 weight class, won three matches before defeating top-seeded Jerrid Hartman of York 8-6 in the championship bout. He started the tournament with a 13-5 win over Mike Murcia of Scranton before defeating Kyle Travers of R.I.T. 18-2. He advanced to the semifinals after beating second-seeded Zach Cogen of Oneonta State 5-2.

At 149, Dattolo, who was given the top seed in his weight class, won his four matches by a combined score of 58-12, including a 15-0 technical fall win over Michael Slabinski of Gettysburg in his opening bout. He followed that showing with a 21-7 major decision win over Evan Ennis of York putting him in the semifinals. He would reach the title match with an 8-4 victory over JP Sala of Oneonta State before beating teammate Nathan White (Ellicott City, MD/River Hill) 6-2.

In the 157-pound division, second seeded James Histed (Lake Ariel, Pa./Bishop O'Hara) did not lose more than one point in any of his four matches in his championship run. After receiving a bye in the opening round, he would beat Justin Kay of King's College 5-0 before beating Keith Swanson of Muhlenberg 3-1. He reached the finals after beating third-seeded Taylor Green of King's 8-1. In the title bout, he faced top-seeded Justin Wake of RIT, where he would take a 3-1 victory.

Marich, competing in the 165-pound division, was one of three unseeded wrestlers to win a title. In his first match as a Colonel, Marich took an impressive 13-0 major decision win over Sajen Hunt of RIT before pinning second-seed Jerry Robbins of King's in 5:47. He advanced to the semifinals with a 4-2 overtime win against teammate Dustin Stough (Friendsville, MD/Northern Garrett) en route to a 9-4 victory over Nick Fuschino of RIT in the championship bout.

At 174, top-seeded Frank Heffernan (Slatington, Pa./Northern Lehigh) continues to be impressive as he won his four matches by a combined score of 32-6. He defeated Colin Pryor of Gettysburg 14-1 in the opening bout before taking a 5-2 victory against Tom O'Conner of Army. He would later beat Ben Johnston of RIT 9-0 to reach the finals, where he would defeat Dave Foley of King's 4-3.

Zach Pizarro (Easton, Pa./Easton), competing at 197, was the final champion of the day for Wilkes as he defeated Casey Hedash of Army 7-3. The top-seed started his run with a 14-2 win over Anthony Congliano of King's before beating York's John Starcevich 5-4 to advance to the championship bout against Hedash.

At 133, Wilson fell to Ed Galvin of Oneonta State 8-3, but would come back in the consolation bracket to win five bouts, including a 3-2 win over Justin Davy of Oneonta State.

Krawchuk, competing in the 141-pound division, pinned Jack Bostrom of Gettysburg in 4:00 in the opening bout, but would fall to Zach Crain of Oneonta State in the following match. In the consolation bracket he would defeat Chris Gugliotti of York before beating Keven Homan of Muhlenberg in the quarterfinals. After beating Paul Hancock of the Marine Academy in the consolation semifinals, he would beat Crain 12-3 in the consolation championship.

At 157, Falk won his opening bout 8-4 over Joe Fiore of Gettysburg, but would fall to Wake of RIT. In the consolation bracket he took out Steve Glickman 13-1 before pinning Justin Kay of King's in 4:46. He would eventually get past Taylor Green of King's before beating Mike Guenter of Scranton to take third.

Competing in 165, Vilella dropped his opening round bout to Fuschino of RIT, but would bounce back to win six matches, including a 6-4 victory over John Sternlicht of Muhlenberg. Vilella recorded three pins in his third-place finish, including one in 1:23 over Adam Ginkelstein of Gettysburg.

The win marks the second-consecutive year in which Wilkes has won a tournament championship as they took home the team title at Messiah last season. They will be back in action next Saturday when Wilkes hosts the John Reese Duals in the Marts Center starting at 11 a.m.