FORT WAYNE, IN – The No. 23 Wilkes University wrestling team finished 1-2 at the NWCA National Duals following three straight matches against ranked opponents at the prestigious event.
 
Wilkes began the day falling to No. 17 Luther 29-14 in the first round before bouncing back in the consolation first round with a 21-20 victory over No. 15 Baldwin Wallace. The Colonels saw their tournament come to an end after a 21-17 loss to No. 13 Alma College in their third match of the day.
 
Wilkes moves to 10-4 overall following the day's action.
 
In the match against Luther, Michael Fleck (Easton, PA/Wilson Area) opened the scoring for Wilkes wasting little time on way to a 15-0 technical fall over Cody Hanson. Three straight extra point wins at 133, 141 and 149 put Luther ahead 17-5 after four bouts.
 
Nicholas Racanelli (West Creek, NJ/Southern Regional) earned a 4-0 decision at 157 before tough decision losses at 165 and 174 kept Luther ahead 23-8 with three bouts remaining. From there Kyle Diesel (Westtown, NY/Minisink Valley) and Nicholas Dawson (Montoursville, PA/Montoursville) each posted 3-0 decision wins at 184 and 197 to close out the Colonels scoring in the match.
 
Fleck started the match against Baldwin Wallace where he left off in the earlier match recording a fall in 1:19 as the Colonels led 6-0. After Baldwin Wallace secured a technical fall at 133, Pankil Chander (Cedarhurst, NY/Lawrence) posted a 7-2 decision at 141 to extend the Wilkes advantage to 9-5.
 
Baldwin Wallace took a major decision at 149 to tie the match at 9-9 before a Racanelli decision (2-0) at 157 and important major decision (16-3) from James Ilvento (Holmdel, NJ/Holmdel) put Wilkes back on top 16-9 with four bouts remaining. Another technical fall at 174 for Baldwin Wallace followed by Diesel's second win of the day, a n 8-0 major at 184 setup the final bout with Wilkes leading 20-17.
 
Although Baldwin Wallace claimed a decision win at 285 to tie the match at 20, Wilkes was awarded the extra team point due to the second criteria of the tie breaker rule using combined total of falls, forfeits, defaults and disqualifications. Fleck's fall at 125 sent the Colonels into the next round of competition.
 
In the final match of the day against Alma, Fleck continued his unbeaten streak with a 16-1 technical fall, his third straight extra point win in the tournament to give Wilkes a 5-0 lead. After a decision win at 133 for Alma, Wilkes picked up three straight decision wins at 141 (Chander), 149 (Stokes) and Racanelli (157) to extend its advantage to 14-3 after five bouts.
 
Diesel recorded a 5-0 decision win at 184, but two falls and two decisions in the final five bouts propelled Alma to the four point victory.
 
Wilkes returns to the mat Thursday when the Colonels travel to Williamsport, Pa. for a dual match with Penn College.
 
No. 17 Luther 29, No. 23 Wilkes 14
125 – M. Fleck (W) tech. fall C. Hanson (L) 15-0
133 – N. Scheffert (L) fall S. Mass (W) 4:14
141 – D. Van Anrooy (L) tech. fall P. Chander (W) 16-0
149 – D. Gray (L) fall J. Evans (W) :46
157 – N. Racanelli (W) dec. T. Zurfluh (L) 4-0
165 – B. Poray (L) dec. J. Ilvento (W) 3-1
174 – J. Reyes (L) dec. J. Brook (W) 7-5
184 – K. Diesel (W) dec. J. Kreiter (L) 3-0
197 – N. Dawson (W) dec. J. Vaughns (L) 3-0
285 – C. Jennings (L) fall A. Pullen (W) 3:38
 
No. 23 Wilkes 21, No. 15 Baldwin Wallace 20
125 – M. Fleck (W) fall C. Doyle (B) 1:19
133 – J. Gunter (B) tech. fall S. Mass (W) 15-0
141 – P. Chander (W) dec. Z. Taylor (B) 7-2
149 – J. Schmidt (B) major dec. T. Stokes (W) 10-1
157 – N. Racanelli (W) dec. R. Burke (B) 2-0
165 – J. Ilvento (W) major dec. G. Montague (B) 16-3
174 – G. Chase (B) tech. fall J. Brook (W) 18-3
184 – K. Diesel (W) major dec. B. Lebrun (B) 8-0
197 – T. Maclellan (B) dec. N. Dawson (W) 3-0
285 – J. Belford (B) dec. A. Pullen (W) 4-3
 
No. 13 Alma 21, No. 23 Wilkes 17
125 – M. Fleck (W) tech. fall V. Sosa-Sevilla (A) 16-1
133 – A. Pizzo (A) des. S. Mass (W) 7-1
141 – T. Stokes (W) dec. R. Riley (A) 5-4
149 – P. Chander (W) dec. E. Bryant (A) 7-2
157 – N. Racanelli (W) dec. S. Brewer (A) 4-2
165 – T. McPhail (A) dec. J. Ilvento (W) 6-1
174 – T. Heller (A) fall M. Judge (W) 1:40
184 – K. Diesel (W) dec. C. Huff (A) 5-0
197 – J. Jakes (A) dec. N. Dawson (W) 5-0
285 – T. Maresh (A) fall A. Pullen (W) 2:53