Steve Finkernagel

No. 6 Mark Hartenstine claimed the title at 149 going a perfect 5-0 at the Messiah Petrofes Invitational

NO. 6 WILKES WRESTLING FINISHES SECOND AT MESSIAH PETROFES AS 13 COLONELS EARN TOP 7 FINISH INCLUDING TWO TITLES

12/7/2013 3:48:00 PM

NO. 6 WILKES WRESTLING FINISHES SECOND AT MESSIAH PETROFES AS 13 COLONELS EARN TOP 7 FINISH INCLUDING TWO TITLES

GRANTHAM, PA – The No. 6 Wilkes University wrestling team concluded day two of the Messiah Invitational finishing in second place as 13 Colonels earned top seven finishes including two titles at 149-pounds and 197-pounds.

No. 4 Messiah College claimed the team title with 183 total points. Wilkes followed in second with 165.5 points while Mount Union finished third with 143.5 team points.

Wilkes' first title came at 149 as No. 6 Mark Hartenstine (Easton, PA/Easton) remained perfect on the season with wins in the semifinals and finals. Hartenstine recorded a 7-0 decision over Derek Arnold of Ursinus in the semis before cruising in the title bout with a 15-0 technical fall over Ursinus' Eli Gaylor. Hartenstine went 5-0 during the invitational including three falls and the tech. fall in the finals.

Eric Bach (Newton, NJ/Kittatiny) claimed the title at 197 first earning a 6-3 decision over No. 8 Hunter Ayen of Springfield in the semis. Bach then posted a 3-1 overtime victory in the championship bout against Messiah's Jason Wright.

Guesseppe Rea (Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) reached the finals at 125-pounds after his opponent took a medical forfeit in the semifinals. Rea dropped an 8-3 decision to No. 9 Lucas Malmberg of Messiah who upset No. 6 Tommy Casper of Springfield to reach the title bout.

Two Wilkes wrestlers claimed top five finishes at 285 as William Fletcher (Ottsville, PA/Palisades) notched second place after his opponent took a medical forfeit in the semis. Fletcher fell 6-2 in the finals to Bridgetwater's Ricky Caruso to settle for second place. Michael Shannon finished in fifth place after his opponent took a medical forfeit in the bout. Nick Dawson wrestled his way back into the seventh place bout using two decisions and a fall to settle for seventh at the event in his first action of the season.

Three Colonels notched top seven finishes at 184-pounds led by a third place finish by Marlon Duque (Boonton, NJ/Boonton). Duque posted a 5-4 decision over teammate Levi Veppert (Kempton, PA/Northwestern Lehigh) to reach the third place bout before taking a 3-2 decision over Brent Kirk of Mount Union to capture third. Veppert settled for fifth place after beating Nick Cross of McDaniel 10-2 in the fifth place bout. Alex Pullen (Salisbury, MD/Wicomico) was the third top seven finisher for Wilkes in the bracket claiming seventh with a 6-2 decision over Harry Denoncourt of Bridgewater.

Wilkes teammates battled for seventh place at both 165 and 174. Sean Lombardi (Newton, NJ/Kittatiny) pinned Tyler Schell (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) for seventh at 165 at 6:16 while Kyle Diesel (Westtown, NY/Minisink Valley) bested Chase Martino (Hixson, TN/The McCallie School) at 174 with a 3-1 decision.

Tyler Lauchaire (Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) finished in fifth at 157 using an 11-4 decision over Messiah's Jacob English in the fifth place bout.

Rookie Corey Flemming rounded out the top seven finishers for Wilkes notching fourth place at 133-pounds. Flemming pinned Keven Hoogheem of Ursinus in 3:45 to reach the third place bout. He then fell to Kyle Coblentz of Messiah 16-0 to settle for fourth.

Wilkes remains idle until Saturday, December 28 when the Colonels host the 81^st annual Wilkes Open "Rose Bowl of Wrestling". Competition begins at 9:00 a.m.

Team Scores (Final)
Messiah         183.0
Wilkes 165.5
Mt. Union       143.5
Springfield 122.5
Ursinus          120.0
McDaniel 104.5
Bridgewater     64.5
Muhlenberg 15.5
Gettysburg 5.5

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