ELIZABETHTOWN, PA – The Wilkes University wrestling team claimed three individual titles and placed nine wrestlers in the top four as the Colonels captured first place at the 2021 Elizabethtown Invitational Saturday afternoon.

Full Results
 
Wilkes won the team title earning 116 team points throughout the tournament. Davis & Elkins followed in second place with 103 points while host Elizabethtown finished third  with 88 total points.
 
First-year Austin Fashouer (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) was the first Colonels individual champion at 125-pounds cruising to the title with three falls and a decision win. Fashouer started the day with a fall in 1:31 followed by another pin at 1:42 before scoring a 7-1 decision win to reach the finals. There Fashouer pinned Braden Schuyler of Elizabethtown in 6:23 to earn the crown.
 
Colton Babcock (Sweet Valley, PA/Northwest Area) (184-pounds) was the second Colonels to win a title at the event in an impressive fashion. Babcock earn extra points in all four of his bouts including three straight falls to reach the finals before dominating with a 13-0 major decision in the title bout. Alexis Perez (Mahanoy City, PA/Mahanoy Area) earned fourth place at 184-pounds starting the day with a major decision (12-3) and 5-3 decision win before falling in the semifinals to teammate Babcock. He then wrestled back with a 16-7 major decision to reach the third place bout where he fell by technical fall.
 
Rookie Cameron Butka (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) was the third Colonel to capture an individual title claiming the top spot at 197-pounds. Butka, the top seed, earned a bye in the first round followed by a fall in 2:09 and 5-1 decision in the semifinals. The rookie then took the title bout with a 5-3 decision win.
 
Wilkes saw two top-four finishers at 149-pounds as Kyle Tino (Phillipsburg, NJ/Phillipsburg) and Max Shaffer (Doylestown, PA/Archbishop Wood) took home second and fourth place respectively. Tino opened with a fall in 1:45 followed by a major decision (11-3) to reach the semifinals. There Tino earned his way to the final bout with an 8-6 sudden victory win before falling in the finals by technical fall.
 
Shaffer moved through the championship bracket with a pair of falls before being pinned in the semifinals. He then wrestled back with a tough 9-8 decision before falling in the third place bout by fall to settle for fourth place.
 
Sean McCurdy (Philadelphia, PA/Academy of the New Church) raced all the way to the semifinals at 285-pounds before dropping a hard-fought 6-5 decision. McCurdy used back-to-back falls and a 5-2 decision win to reach the semifinals. He then wrestled back defeating Nevin Rauch (New Columbia, PA/Milton) 9-4 before claiming third with a 9-5 decision in the third place bout.
 
John Devito (Long Valley, NJ/West Morris Central) had a strong showing at 174-pounds finishing in second place. Devito began the day with a technical fall (18-2) followed by a pin in 1:23. He reached the title bout after winning 12-5 in the semifinals before falling in a tough 9-8 decision against the top seed Scranton's William Laughlin in the finals.
 
Charles Everdale (Freeland, PA/Hazleton Area) was the final top-four finishers for Wilkes on the day taking home fourth place at 165-pounds. Everdale used the wrestle backs to earn his way to the fourth place finish winning three bouts including two falls on way to the third place bout. There he fell by fall to settle for fourth.
 
Wilkes returns home on Friday hosting Alvernia University in a dual match at 7:00 p.m. at the McHale Athletic Center.