GRANTHAM, PA – The Wilkes University wrestling team placed fifth of eight teams at the 2022 Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Championship hosted by Messiah University inside Hitchcock Arena Saturday as the team produced seven top-six finishers and one All-MAC wrestler.

Full Results

Jack Bauer (Ringoes, NJ/Hunterdon Central) earned Second Team All-MAC honors as runner up at the 133-pound weight class. Bauer started with a quarterfinal victory over Thomas Conselyea of Lycoming College by a 16-0 technical fall. He then won his semifinal bout with a 15-9 decision over Gustav Petruske of King's College to reach the final. In the final, top-seed Dalton Rohrbaugh of York College of Pennsylvania won a tough 8-4 decision as Bauer earned runner-up.

At 197-pounds Cameron Butka (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) made his way into the third-place bout before settling for fourth. Butka began his day with a 14-4 major decision in the quarterfinals over Isaiah Johnson of Delaware Valley University. Then Butka lost a tight 4-1 decision to top-seed, eventual champion, and No. 7 Michael Dooley of Stevens Institute of Technology in the semifinals. The first year then picked up a fall in 4:40 over Joe Embleton of Messiah to reach the third-place bout where Gable Crebs of Lycoming took the bout by fall.

Nicholas Bauer (Coplay, PA/Wyoming Seminary) used a 4-2 day to place fifth at 125-pounds for the Colonels. Bauer used a 10-8 overtime victory over Garrett Lee of Lycoming in the opening round to move into the quarterfinals. He then dropped the technical fall to Ryan Kelly of Delaware Valley. Bauer then began his wrestle backs with a 17-1 technical fall over Kyle Miller of King's and followed with a fall in 6:22 over Merlin Senat of Delaware Valley. Keito Shaw of Alvernia University then defeated Bauer with a 3-0 decision to put the Colonel in the fifth-place match. Bauer earned the victory with a 5-2 decision over Kaden Majcher of Lycoming.

Christopher Nuss (Gore, VA/James Wood) was the top finisher of three Colonels at 174-pounds as he went 4-2 to place fifth. Nuss began with an opening round 9-4 decision over Blaise Wagner of Stevens. Top-seed Yousseff Ait Boulahri of Delaware Valley then defeated Nuss by a 10-3 decision in the quarterfinals. The first year then wrestled back with a 5-1 decision over Jake Hipps of York and a fall at 2:35 over Gavin Hollingsworth of Alvernia. He then lost by fall to Joel Martinovsky of Stevens and landed in fifth with a medical forfeit win in the fifth-place match.

Nevin Rauch (New Columbia, PA/Milton) stepped up for the Colonels at 285 to go 4-2 overall and place fifth. In the opening round Rauch lost by fall to eventual champion Carter Urich of Messiah. The sophomore then used falls in three consecutive matches to make a run in the wrestle backs. He pinned Chase Smith of Alvernia in 1:39, Hayden Benner of Messiah in 1:24, and Isaac Mensah of King's in 4:31. He then faced top seed and No. 12 John Fulmer of Lycoming and lost by a fall. Rauch finished his day strong with his fourth victory by fall to take fifth place as he pinned Austin Williams of Delaware Valley in 1:09.

Alexis Perez (Mahanoy City, PA/Mahanoy Area) earned the Colonels another fifth-place finish at 184-pounds. The sophomore won his quarterfinal with a 6-5 decision over Brendan Newbury of Stevens. He then dropped his semifinal to top seed and eventual champion Isaac Kassis of Alvernia by a 9-3 decision. Ryder Slaton of Messiah then won an 8-0 major decision over Perez before he placed fifth with a medial forfeit by his opponent.

Charles Everdale (Freeland, PA/Hazleton Area) placed sixth at 165 for Wilkes as he went 3-3 on the day. He began with a fall in 4:09 over Messiah's Hunter Zacerous in the opening round. James Snyder of Stevens then won by a fall in the quarterfinals. The first year then wrestled back with a 17-2 technical fall over Alan DeVries of York and a 13-1 major decision over Cooper Kidd of Delaware Valley. Zach Needles of Messiah and Jack Bailey of Stevens then won consecutive matches by fall as Everdale placed sixth.

Rene Trevino (Rio Grande City, TX/Rio Grande City), Josef Lundin (Edmonton, AB/Vimy Ridge Academy), Allen Kokilananda (Springfield, VA/Annandale), Benjamin Griffith (Fogelsville, PA/Northwestern Lehigh), John Devito (Long Valley, NJ/West Morris Central), James Geiger (Dallas, PA/Dallas), and Quentin Day (Annapolis, MD/Severn School) also competed for the Colonels at the MAC Championship.

Stevens took the team title with 134.5 points. Wilkes was fifth with 88.5 points, just one point behind York's 89.5. Messiah with 114.0 and Alvernia with 98.5 points were second and third. Delaware Valley was sixth with 78.0 points, Lycoming seventh with 67.5 and King's eighth with 47.5.

Wilkes will return to the mat next week hosting the John Reese Duals on Sunday, January 23 at the Marts Center. The Colonels will face Penn State Behrend at 11:00 a.m., West Virginia University Institute of Technology at 12:30 p.m., and Oneonta at 2:00 p.m. as they need one dual match victory to reach 900 in the program's history.