Wilkes University (3-5) vs. University of Scranton (3-5)
Friday, January 26
Start Time: 7:00 p.m.
Wilkes-Barre, PA – Marts Center
Watch Live (Scranton Dual)
Digital Match Program
 
2024 John Reese Duals
Sunday, January 28
Start Time: 11:00 a.m.
Wilkes-Barre, PA – Marts Center
Watch Live (John Reese Duals – All 3 Mats)
Live Results
Digital Match Program (vs Keystone)
Digital Match Program (vs Penn College)
Digital Match Program (vs Oneonta)
 
2023-24 Wilkes Results Page
 
Colonels Notebook
• The Wilkes wrestling team is set to host the University of Scranton in a Senior Night dual match on Friday at 7:00 p.m. inside the Marts Center. Then on Sunday the Colonels host the John Reese Duals where they will face Keystone College at 11:00 a.m., Penn College at 12:30 p.m., and SUNY Oneonta at 2:00 p.m. Ithaca College and No. 24 Springfield College will also compete at the duals which features six teams with three rounds of wrestling on three mats.
 
• Before Friday's match with Scranton the Colonels will recognize graduate student Jack Bauer (Ringoes, NJ/Hunterdon Central) along with seniors Trevor DuBoff (Stony Point, NY/North Rockland), Hunter Lowe (Westminster, MD/Winters Mill), and Dawson Tallant (Cape May, NJ/Middle Township) in a Senior Night ceremony.
 
• Wilkes is coming off a 2-3 showing and 13th place finish out of 16 teams at the 2024 Budd Whitehill National Duals hosted by Lycoming College last Friday and Saturday. The Colonels dropped duals in group action on Friday to Ithaca College 35-15, No. 7 Stevens Institute of Technology 27-15, and McDaniel College 25-22 before winning both of their matches on Saturday over Oswego State 40-7 and York College (Pa.) 27-14.  Bauer at 141, junior Cameron Butka (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) at 197, and junior Caleb Burkhart (Hughesville, PA/Hughesville) at 285 all went 4-1 during the five-match stretch.
 
• The Colonels saw five of their wrestler's place in the top-six at the 90th Wilkes Open Wrestling Championships at the Marts Center on Friday, December 22. Junior Chistopher Nuss earned the 184-pound title. Burkhart placed second at 285-pounds and Butka was third at 197-pounds. Junior Cadden Kucek (Forty Fort, PA/Wyoming Valley West) placed sixth at 125-pounds for his first career tournament placement and first year Lucas Miller (Kempton, PA/Northwestern Lehigh) also earned his first placement with a sixth place showing at 184-pounds.
 
• Wilkes dropped a dual match at Delaware Valley University on December 8th by a 29-15 score despite winning four of the 10 bouts. Bauer earned a fall in 4:48 at 141-pounds. First year Ryan Santiago (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) and sophomore Jaryn Hartranft (Catasauqua, PA/Catasauqua) each won by 15-8 decisions at 149 and 157 pounds respectively. Butka won with an 8-2 decision at 197.
 
• Wilkes placed second of 10 teams at the Blue Jay Classic hosted by Elizabethtown on December 2nd and had 11 top-six finishers at the tournament. Butka won the 197-pound title for his third tournament championship of the season. Nuss made his season debut and won the 184-pound championship for the juniors first career tournament title. Bauer (141) and Lowe (184) placed second, Santiago (149), first year Melquan Warren (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall) (174), and Burkhart (285) all placed third, senior Michael Richardson (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) (133) and Hartranft (157) were fourth, first year Mason Livio (Little Egg Harbor Township, NJ/Pinelands Regional) (141) was fifth, and first year Connor Kerwin (Totowa, NJ/Passaic Valley) (125) was sixth.
 
• The Colonels placed third of 18 teams on Saturday, November 18 at the Doug Parker Invitational in Springfield, Mass. Wilkes saw four wrestlers place in the top-6 including Butka who won the 197-pound title. Bauer placed second at 141-pounds, Hartranft took third at 157-pounds, and Burkhart was fifth at 285-pounds.
 
• Wilkes dropped its season-opening dual-match to No. 14 TCNJ on November 10th in the Marts Center by a 35-11 score. Santiago picked up a fall at 149-pounds with a pin in just 11 seconds. Butka was the other victor with a technical fall. The next day the Colonels improved to 1-1 this season in dual matches with a 40-12 victory at home over Lackawanna College. Wilkes won eight of the 10 bouts. First years Rocky Finnegan (Laporte, PA/Sullivan County) (125), Ethan Washburn (Ringwood, NJ/Bergen Catholic) (133), and Livio (141) all won by first period technical fall. Sophomore Ben Grater (Saddle Brooke, NJ/Saddle Brook) also won by a first period technical fall at 149. First year Jared Bilinski (Dolgeville, NY/Dolgeville Central) won by forfeit at 174 while Miller took an 8-2 decision. Lowe won by fall at 6:05 in the 197-pound bout and Burkhart took a technical fall at 285.
 
• The Colonels opened the 2023-24 season by placing fourth of 13 teams at the Ned McGinley Invitational on November 4th. The Colonels saw eight wrestlers place within the top six of their respective weight classes and had three champions. Hartranft won the 157-pound title by going 5-0. Butka took the 197-pound title and Burkhart won the 285-pound title after each went 4-0 as the top seed. Kerwin went 4-2 and placed fifth at 125-pounds. Richardson (133), Bauer (141), Santiago (149), and Lowe (197) all placed sixth.
 
• The Colonels 2023-24 roster goes 34 deep with a class breakdown of: one graduate student, four seniors, seven juniors, seven sophomores, and 15 first years.
 
• The roster features student-athletes from seven states: Pennsylvania – 16; New Jersey – 10; New York – 4; Connecticut – 1; Louisiana – 1; Maryland – 1; Virginia – 1.
 
In the Rankings
• Butka (21-2) is ranked No. 10 at 197-pounds by the NWCA in the latest Division III Individual Rankings that came out on Friday, January 26. Butka has moved up from being ranked No. 13 in the preseason and has been as high as No. 6.
 
• In the NWCA Southeast Regional Rankings, Butka is ranked second (197), Hartranft second (157), Burkhart fourth (285), Richardson fifth (133), Bauer seventh (141), and Nuss seventh (184).
 
• Butka is ranked No. 7 nationally in the latest d3wrestle.com individual rankings that came out Monday, January 15. He has been as high as No. 6 this season.
 
• In the latest The Open Mat rankings that were released today, Butka is No. 10 at 197 and Burkhart is No. 20 at 285.
 
Scouting the Opponents
• Scranton comes in with a 3-5 overall dual match record.
 
     -Dan Kosinski is ranked No. 5 in the NWCA Mideast Regional Rankings at 157-pounds.
 
• Keystone comes in with a 3-7 overall dual match record.
 
• Penn College enters with an 8-5 overall dual match record.
 
     -Isaac Cory is ranked No. 3 nationally at 184-pounds by The Open Mat and d3wrestle.
 
     -Noah Hunt is ranked No. 4 at 141-pounds, Kaden Ware is ranked No. 6 at 133-pounds, TJ Martin is No. 7 at 149-pounds, and Travis Green is No. 8 at 165-pounds in the NWCA Mideast Regional Rankings.
 
• Oneonta enters with a 10-3 overall dual match record. They are currently ranked in a tie for 24th in the NWCA Tournament Team Rankings released on January 26th.
 
     -Jack Ryan is ranked No. 3 nationally by the NWCA, No. 8 by d3wrestle, and No. 9 by The Open Mat at 184-pounds. He is No. 1 in the NWCA Mideast Regional Rankings.
 
     -Carson Licastri is ranked No. 5 at 197-pounds and Kenny Sauer is ranked No. 8 at 174-pounds in the NWCA Mideast Regional Rankings.
 
Weighing In – Scranton Dual
125 – C. Kerwin (12-10)
133 – M. Richardson (9-9)
141 – J. Bauer (18-5)
149 – B. Grater (7-10)
149 – C. Thorpe (9-10)
157 – J. Hartranft (16-8)
165 – T. DuBoff (1-10)
174 – L. Miller (11-12)
174 – M. Warren (8-9)
184 – H. Lowe (8-7)
197 – C. Butka (21-2)
197 – D. Tallant (1-6)
285 – C. Burkhart (19-6)
285 – T. Gitski (1-5)
 
Weighing In – John Reese Duals
125 – R. Finnegan (7-10)
125 – C. Kerwin (12-10)
125 – C. Kucek (6-9)
133 – S. Kimmel (4-11)
133 – M. Richardson (9-9)
133 – E. Washburn (4-11)
141 – J. Bauer (18-5)
141 – M. Livio (12-10)
141 – C. Temple (5-4)
149 – J. Brady (3-9)
149 – B. Grater (7-10)
149 – C. Thorpe (9-10)
157 – J. Hartranft (16-8)
165 – T. DuBoff (1-10)
165 – C. Wells (2-4)
174 – J. Bilinski (9-10)
174 – L. Miller (11-12)
174 – M. Warren (8-9)
184 – H. Lowe (8-7)
184 – C. Nuss (11-1)
184 – O. Watson (0-2)
197 – C. Butka (21-2)
197 – D. Tallant (1-6)
285 – C. Burkhart (19-6)
285 – T. Gitski (1-5)