The No. 17 Wilkes wrestling team continues to re-write the school record book, and it can add another as the Colonels picked up their 22nd win of the season with a 27-9 victory over No. 23 King's College. The previous record was 21 set during the 1986-87 and the 1987-88 seasons.

The Colonels won seven of the 10 matches, including two by pin to improve to 22-6 on the year on senior night, where both upper classmen in the lineup won their final home matches of their careers.

At 125, freshman Scott Mantua (Clarksville, MD/River Hill) fell behind 2-0 to Mike Tabasco, but a quick escape four seconds later cut the lead in half. Late in the first period he would eventually pin Tabasco at the 2:30 mark to give Wilkes a 6-0 lead. Mantua improved to 30-10 on the season and recorded his fifth pin of the season.

King's would bounce back at 133 as Tony Miele recorded an escape early in the second period which proved to be enough as it was the only scoring in the match. He was awarded a point at the end of the bout for riding time to take a 2-0 win over Andrew Fisher.

At 141 Kris Krawchuk (Slatington, PA/Northern Lehigh) gave the Colonels a 9-3 advantage with a 5-1 win over Frankie Davis. After a scoreless first period, Krawchuk recorded a reversal on an escape with 1:50 to go in the second to lead 2-0. He would eventually get another takedown with 59 seconds to go in the third period to lead 4-0. Davis did escape with 37 seconds to go in the final period for his only point of the bout. Krawchuk had enough riding time to give him his fifth point at the end of the contest.

Anthony Dattolo (Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury) continued the winning ways for Wilkes as he recorded his sixth pin of the season. He was awarded a point when Chris Puorro was given a technical violation before recording a takedown at 1:36 to lead 3-0 after the first period. He eventually pinned Puorro to give the Colonels a commanding 15-3 lead.

At 157, King's would win its second match of the night when Taylor Green recorded a 5-0 win.

Ben Marich (Kempton, PA/Northwestern Lehigh), competing at 165, won a close 6-4 decision over Jerry Robbins, giving Wilkes an 18-6 lead. Robbins took an early 2-0 lead after a takedown at the 2:12 mark in the first period. Marich would cut the lead in half with an escape at 1:52 before taking the lead for good with a takedown at 1:22 to lead 3-2. Marich would record a reversal as well as an escape and was awarded a riding time point for his sixth of the match.

At 174, Frank Heffernan (Slatington, Pa./Northern Lehigh), competing in his final home match of his career, didn't disappoint as he recorded his 107th career victory as he beat Dave Foley 6-0. He took a quick 2-0 lead at the 2:25 mark in the first before adding a third point with an escape early in the second. He recorded his fifth point with a takedown with 32 seconds to go and was given a riding time point to complete the shutout, giving Wilkes a 21-6 lead.

Kevin Gerhart (Hummelstown/Lower Dauphin), who missed the last match due to the flu, held on for an 8-7 win over Frank Marinucci. He led 2-0 after a takedown at the 2:00 mark in the first, but an escape by Marinucci 11 seconds later cut his lead in half. He would eventually tally two more takedowns and two escapes to keep the lead, but Marinucci countered with four escapes and was awarded a point due to a stalling penalty called on Gerhart.

Competing in his final home match of his career, Zach Pizarro (Easton, Pa./Easton) recorded his 76th victory in his three-plus years with the program after defeating Peter Dwyer 7-3. He recorded a takedown 57 seconds into the first period to lead 2-0, but Dwyer was able to escape at the 1:45 mark to make it 2-1 in favor of Pizarro. He would get another takedown with five seconds left in the first to lead 4-1. Another escape by Dwyer with 1:45 to go in the second made it 4-2, but Pizarro would tally another takedown with 1:36 to go in the third to lead 6-3. He would eventually receive a riding time point to make it 7-3.

At 285, Chris Rash of King's would win the final bout of the night 6-2 over Jake Weinrich (Newton, NJ/Kittatinny). After a scoreless first period, Weinrich was on the board first after an escape at the 1:01 mark of the second period. Rash would get a takedown with two seconds to go in the period to take a 2-1 lead which he would not lose the rest of the way.



No. 15 Wilkes 27 No. 19 Kings 9

125 – Scott Mantua (Clarksville, MD/River Hill) (Wilkes) pinned Mike Tabasco (2:30) 6-0
133 – Tony Miele (King's) dec. Andrew Fisher (2-1) 6-3
141 - Kris Krawchuk (Slatington, PA/Northern Lehigh) (Wilkes) dec. Frankie Davis (5-1) 9-3
149 – Anthony Dattolo (Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury) (Wilkes) pinned Chris Puorro (2:45) 15-3
157 – Taylor Green (King's) dec. Nathan White (Ellicott City, MD/River Hill) (5-0) 15-6
165 – Ben Marich (Kempton, PA/Northwestern Lehigh) (Wilkes) dec. Jerry Robbins (6-4) 18-6
174 – No. 9 Frank Heffernan (Slatington, Pa./Northern Lehigh) (Wilkes) dec. Dave Foley (6-0) 21-6
184 – Kevin Gerhart (Hummelstown/Lower Dauphin) (Wilkes) dec. Frank Marinucci (8-7) 24-6
197 – Zach Pizarro (Easton, Pa./Easton) (Wilkes) dec. Peter Dwyer (7-3) 27-6
285 – Chris Rash (King's) dec. Jake Weinrich (Newton, NJ/Kittatinny) (6-2) 27-9