YORK, PA – Sophomore Cameron Butka (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) earned the 197-pound title for the Wilkes University wrestling team at the 2023 Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Championship hosted by York College (Pa.) at the Grumbacher Sport and Fitness Center Saturday. Austin Fashouer (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) and Christopher Nuss (Gore, VA/James Wood) earned Third Team All-MAC honors with third place finishes in their respective weight classes and seven total Colonels finished in the top six to help Wilkes to a fourth place team finish out of the eight teams.

Full Brackets
Team Scores

Butka, the No. 3 seed at 197-pounds, won by default in the Quarterfinals to set up a matchup against Joe Embleton of Messiah in the Semifinals. Butka won there with an 8-2 decision. He scored the opening takedown and led 2-1 after the first period. The bout went to the third period at the same score as Butka rode Embleton the whole second period. Butka started the final two minutes with an escape, then worked a takedown to go ahead 5-1. Following an escape by the Falcons grappler, Butka got his third takedown of the match and added the riding time point for the 8-2 score.

In the championship bout, Butka faced fourth seeded Daniel Eckley of Delaware Valley. He took a 2-0 lead with a takedown 48 seconds into the first and led 2-1 at the end of the first three minutes. Butka escaped to start the second period and then at the 45 second mark of the period hit another takedown to lead 5-1. Eckley escaped 12 second later and Butka led 5-2 at the end of the second. Eckley escaped to start the third period to draw within two points but Butka was able to keep the Aggies wrestler from getting a takedown as he earned the 197-pound title and First Team All-MAC honors.

Fashouer, the fourth seed at 125-pounds, won his Round of 16 bout over Robert Philpot of Alvernia with a first period fall at the 2:32 mark as he led 4-1 following two takedowns. The sophomore then defeated fifth seed Gus Petruske of King's in the Quarterfinals with a 16-5 major decision. Fashouer earned a takedown with nine seconds left in the first period to start the scoring. In the second period he earned eight points on two escapes, a takedown and one four-point nearfall. Fashouer added five points in the third period with two takedowns and an escape while also adding the riding time point. In the semifinals Fashouer lost to No. 1 seed Luke Hoerle of Stevens Institute of Technology in an 8-3 decision. He then beat No. 3 seed Jacob Blair of Delaware Valley 5-2 in the Consolation Semifinals. Fashouer came back from an early Blair takedown to get an escape and a takedown of his own in the first period to lead 3-2. He then escaped to start the second and earned the riding time after the third period as he was able to hold Blair down the entire last two minutes. Fashouer earned Third Team All-MAC honors with a no contest against Petruske of King's who he beat earlier in the day.

Nuss, the sixth seed at 174-pounds, began his day with a fall in the Round of 16 over Gavin Hollingsworth of Alvernia at the 3:22 mark. Hollingsworth led 2-1 after the first period. Nuss started down in the second but hit a reversal into the pin for the victory. Third seeded Kade Kravits of King's earned a 3-1 sudden victory decision 21 seconds into the overtime period with a takedown to win the Quarterfinal bout. Nuss then won four consecutive bouts to earn Third Team All-MAC honors. First he pinned Tim Eddinger of Messiah 22 seconds into the bout of the Consolation Round of 8 #2. The sophomore then pinned John Sumner of Messiah at the 2:08 mark of the Consolation Round of 4 bout. He then defeated fifth seeded Jared Townsend of York in the Consolation Semifinals by a 13-5 major decision. Nuss earned an 8-2 lead after the first period with two takedowns and four nearfall points. The score stood 8-3 after the second and Nuss was able to finish the third period with two takedowns and riding time. Nuss had a no contest in the Third Place bout over Joel Martsinovsky of Stevens to earn all-conference recognition.

Hunter Lowe (Westminster, MD/Winters Mill), the sixth seed at 197-pounds, earned a fifth place finish. He started by defaulting to his teammate Butka in the Quarterfinals. Lowe then beat Bill Grace of King's in the Consolation Round of 8 #2 by a 9-4 decision. He followed with a 3-2 decision over Max Ruiz of Stevens in the Consolation Round of 4. The junior hit a reversal with 34 seconds left in the bout and earned riding time to come from behind for the win. Top seed Camden Farrow of York then won by a second period fall in the Consolation Semifinals as Nuss trailed 6-4 at the time. Lowe placed fifth following a medical forfeit by Isaiah Johnson of Delaware Valley.

Caleb Burkhart (Hughesville, PA/Hughesville), the fifth seed at 285-pounds, placed fifth. He opened with a Round of 16 victory by fall at the 2:32 mark of the first period over Jacob Davis of Lycoming. The sophomore led 14-2 as he earned a takedown 10 second into the bout, four nearfall points twice, and then two nearfall points before a reversal by Davis. Burkhart then reversed Davis and picked up the fall. In the Quarterfinals, Burkhart earned a tight 5-4 decision over fourth seeded Austin Williams of Delaware Valley. Williams led 2-0 after the first period. Burkhart took the lead with an escape and takedown in the second period. A reversal by Williams midway through the second put him back ahead 4-3 but Burkhart escaped late in the second to send the bout to the third period tied at 4-4. Williams was on the bottom in the third period and Burkhart prevented an escape, earning the win on a stalling call with three seconds left on Williams. Top seeded John Fulmer of Lycoming earned a 6-3 decision over Burkhart in the Semifinals. Sixth seeded Robert West of Lycoming won with a 4-2 decision Consolation Semifinals. Burkhart then pinned Williams at the 1:41 mark of the Fifth Place bout for his second win over the fourth seed on the day.

Michael Richardson (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial), the sixth seed at 133-pounds, placed sixth. He started his day with a win in the Round of 16 over York's Joel DeFreytas when he pinned him at the 1:22 mark. Third seeded Wilfred Jimenez then won with a 4-3 decision in the Quarterfinals. Richardson led 2-0 with a second period reversal but Jimenez fought back in the third to advance. Richardson then won 4-2 in the Consolation Round of 8 #2 over Colman Ermi of York. After an Ermi takedown in the first period he escaped to trail 2-1. Richardson had a reversal in the second period and earned riding time at the end to win. He then earned a 10-2 major decision in the Consolation Round of 4 over Nick Germano of King's. A 6-0 first period with a takedown and four nearfall points was the key. Richardson then took medical forfeits against the fourth and fifth seeded in the Consolation Semifinals and Fifth Place bouts to finish sixth.

Jack Bauer (Ringoes, NJ/Hunterdon Central), the second seed at 141-pounds, placed sixth after an injury stopped his run short. He started his day by winning his Round of 32 bout over Dawson Miller of York with a 9-2 decision. The senior led 6-0 after the first period on a takedown and four nearfall points. He earned another takedown in the second period and earned riding time. Bauer then defeated Declan Smith of Delaware Valley in the Round of 16 with a fall at 2:37 of the first period. Bauer led 8-0 at the time of the fall as he had scored a takedown 28 second in four nearfall points and two nearfall points before his pin. Bauer then won his Quarterfinal by a 4-3 decision over Cooper Gilham of Lycoming. He earned a takedown with 23 seconds left in the first period before a second period escape by Gilham made the score 2-1 heading to the third period. Bauer earned an early escape but a Gilham takedown tied the score at 3-3. Bauer earned the victory with an escape with just five second remaining. Third seed Avery Leonard won by medical forfeit at the 3:08 mark of the Semifinals. Bauer proceeded to take two more medical forfeits in the Consolation Semifinals and Fifth Place bout to place sixth officially.

Stevens earned the team championship with 152 points and five of the 10 champions. Alvernia was second with 138 points and Messiah was third just ahead of Wilkes with 97.5 points. Along with Wilkes, Alvernia, Delaware Valley, York,and Lycoming had one champion.

Wilkes returns to action Sunday, January 29 hosting the John Reese Duals at the Marts Center. The Colonels will face Muhlenberg College at 11:00 a.m., SUNY Oneonta at 12:30 p.m. and Springfield College at 2:00 p.m.