WILLIAMSPORT, PA. – The Colonels returned to Lycoming College for the second time in as many weeks to participate in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Championships.  Eight Colonels finished in the top six, with three wrestlers placing in the top three of their respective weight categories.

Final Brackets
 
The Colonels posted 81.5 team points to finish in fifth place, trailing fourth-place Alvernia's 86.5 points.  Stevens won in their very first MAC Championship with 154 points, while Messiah placed second as a team with 145.5 points and host Lycoming rounded out the top three with 126.5 points.
 
At 133-pounds, freshman Jack Bauer (Ringoes, NJ/Hunterdon Central) placed sixth.  He started the day with a pin at 5:09 against Dakota Quick of King's, before dropping a major decision to Josiah Gehr of Messiah.  He recorded a fall at 1:44 against Hunter Rinehart of Messiah in his first consolation match before dropping a 6-2 decision to Kordell Rush from Delaware Valley.
 
Two Colonels placed in the top six at 141-pounds.  Sophomore Max Shaffer (Doylestown, PA/Archbishop Wood) finished fifth and started his day with a fall at 1:14 against Brooks Robinson of Messiah, before falling to Troy Stanich of Stevens, ranked number two nationally in the category, with a pin at 3:41.  He bounced back in his first consolation bout with a 18-7 major decision over Trevor Mastorio of Stevens, before edging out fellow Colonel junior Dylan O'Connor (Somerset, NJ/Bishop George Ahr) in a tightly-contested 4-3 decision.  He rounded out his day by earning a pin against Ethan Landis of Lycoming at 6:50 to take fifth place.
 
Senior Kyle Medrow (West Chester, PA/West Chester Henderson) finished second.  He started his day with a pair of pins, one at 1:33 against Ethan Landis of Lycoming in his first bout and another at 1:53 against Dalton Daugherty of Messiah to reach the finals.  There he fell to Stanich, ranked second nationally, at 2:49 to a pin.
 
Sophomore Cody Dix (Egg Harbor, NJ/Egg Harbor Township) placed fourth at 149-pounds.  He started his day with a 11-0 major decision over Spencer Robinson of Stevens, and took another major decision in his second match against Nick Pepe of Stevens in a 15-3 affair.  He fell to Brett Kaliner in the semifinals with a pin at 2:09.  In the consolation bracket semifinals, he took a 8-5 decision over Josiah McClarren of Lycoming, before dropping a closely-fought 3-0 decision in the third place match to Nick Bamhart of Messiah.
 
Sophomore Liam Flaherty (Needmore, PA/Southern Fulton) earned sixth place at 157-pounds.  He dropped a 7-3 decision to Stefan Major of Stevens in his first match of the day, but responded with a 12-3 major decision over Carsten DiGiantomasso of Stevens in his first consolation bout.  He took a 14-7 decision in his second consolation affair against Patrick O'Neill of Delaware Valley to reach the consolation semifinals.  He dropped his semifinal match 18-11 to Trevor Corl of Lycoming and lost the fifth-place match in a 6-2 decision to Gavin Hollingsworth of Alvernia.
 
Sophomore Xavier Barber (Shavertown, PA/Dallas) finished sixth at 165-pounds.  He dropped to the consolation bracket after a fall, but earned two tightly-contested decisions to reach the consolation semifinals, winning 5-3 over Isaiah Castellucci of Messiah and 7-4 Paul Santomarco of Lycoming.  He dropped a 14-9 decision in the semi finals to Kevin Edwards of Messiah before losing the fifth-place match in a fall at 5:26.
 
Freshman John Devito (Long Valley, NJ/West Morris Central) earned bronze at 174-pounds.  He recorded two quick falls to reach the semifinals, one at 0:52 over Jake Nase of Delaware Valley and another at 0:56 against Conner Boal of Lycoming.  He lost there in a technical fall against Brian Shermeyer of Messiah, but would win out to finish third.  He took a 12-6 decision in the consolation semifinals over Nico Ziccardi of Stevens and defeated Conner Boal for a second time with a technical fall.
 
Junior Moustafa Almeky (Shavertown, PA/Dallas) finished third at 197-pounds.  He earned a fall at 4:58 over Michael Kustanbauter of Lycoming to make it to the semifinals, before dropping a 6-4 decision to Tonee Elliss of Alvernia.  He won out in the consolation bracket, taking a pair of 5-0 decisions over Joe Embleton of Messiah and Brody Keefe of Lycoming respectively to finish third.
 
The Colonels look to build off of their performance as they head home to host the John Reese Duals Sunday, January 26 at the Marts Center.  They will compete against RIT at 11:00 a.m., Penn State Behrend at 12:30 p.m., and Oneonta at 2:00 p.m.