Wilkes University (7-6) at King's College (9-5)
Friday, February 16
Start Time: 7:00 p.m.
Wilkes-Barre, PA – McGrane Gymnasium
Live Video
 
Wilkes University (7-6) vs. Elizabethtown College (9-2)
Sunday, February 18
Start Time: 12:00 p.m.
Wilkes-Barre, PA – Marts Center
Live Video
 
2023-24 Wilkes Results Page
 
Colonels Notebook
• The Wilkes wrestling team is set for two dual matches this week, first on Friday at cross-town rival King's College at 7:00 p.m. and then on Sunday hosting Elizabethtown College at the Marts Center with wrestling starting at 12:00 p.m.
 
• Last week the Colonels saw their six-match win streak end with a 33-16 loss at No. 24 Ithaca College on Friday. Graduate student Jack Bauer (Ringoes, NJ/Hunterdon Central) at 141, sophomore Jaryn Hartranft (Catasauqua, PA/Catasauqua) at 157, and junior Cameron Butka (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) at 197 won their matches while junior Caleb Burkhart (Hughesville, PA/Hughesville) picked up a forfeit at 285. The next day, sophomore Caden Temple (Orangeville, PA/Benton) and senior Hunter Lowe (Westminster, MD/Winters Mill) placed fifth at the Messiah Open at 141 and 184 pounds respectively.
 
• Wilkes placed second of 13 teams at the John Summa Invitational hosted by Baldwin Wallace University on Saturday, February 3. The Colonels saw 14 wrestlers place in the top eight of their weight class including two champions. Hartranft went 5-0 to win the 157-pound championship and Butka went 4-0 to win the 197-pound title. Lowe was second at 184-pounds and Burkhart was second at 285-pounds. Placing third were first-year Connor Kerwin (Totowa, NJ/Passaic Valley) at 125, senior Michael Richardson (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) at 133, and first-year Mason Livio (Little Egg Harbor Township, NJ/Pinelands Regional) at 141. First year Rocky Finnegan (Laporte, PA/Sullivan County) was fifth at 125 while Temple took fifth at 141, first year Colton Thorpe (Southington, CT/Southington) fifth at 149, and first year Lucas Miller (Kempton, PA/Northwestern Lehigh) fifth at 174. Junior Cadden Kucek (Forty Fort, PA/Wyoming Valley West) was sixth at 125 while first year Noah Rosa (Reading, PA/Berks Catholic) placed eighth at 125 and first year Jackson Brady (Goshen, NY/Goshen Central) took eighth at 149. It was the first career tournament placement for Finnegan, Rosa, Temple, Brady, and Thorpe.
 
• The Colonels swept their three matches at the John Reese Duals on Sunday to move their dual-match win streak to six and their overall record to 7-5 on the season. Wilkes defeated Keystone College 44-12, Penn College 35-16, and SUNY Oneonta 34-16. Hartranft went a perfect 3-0 on the day winning all his bouts by fall.
 
• Wilkes defeated the University of Scranton by a 40-8 score on Senior Night at the Marts Center last Friday. Richardson, Hartranft, Butka, and Burkhart all won by fall.
 
• Wilkes went 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, Butka at 197, Burkhart 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. Kucek placed sixth at 125-pounds for his first career tournament placement and Miller 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 Hartranft 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, Richardson (133) and Hartranft (157) were fourth, Livio (141) was fifth, and Kerwin (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 Finnegan (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 is ranked No. 9 at 197-pounds by the NWCA in the latest Division III Individual Rankings that came out on Friday, February 9. Butka has been ranked as high as No. 6 and has moved up from being ranked No. 13 in the preseason.
 
• In the NWCA Southeast Regional Rankings, Butka is ranked second (197), Hartranft second (157), Burkhart fifth (285), Richardson seventh (133), Bauer seventh (141), and Nuss seventh (184).
 
• Butka is ranked No. 7 nationally in the latest d3wrestle.com individual rankings that came out Thursday, February 1. He has been as high as No. 6 this season. Hartranft is listed as an Honorable Mention at 157-pounds which has him just outside the top 18.
 
• In the latest The Open Mat rankings that were released Thursday, February 15, Butka remained at No. 6 at 197. Hartranft moved up to No. 16 at 157 from being 19th last week, and Burkhart moved up to No. 18 at 285 after being 20th last week.
 
• Burkhart is currently ranked eighth among NCAA Division III wrestlers with 16 falls against D-III opponents. He has 18 total falls on the season as he closes in on his own program record of 24.
 
Scouting the Opponents
• King's is 9-5 overall in dual matches this season, including a 32-12 win over Oswego State last night.
 
- Rich Fronheiser is ranked No. 8 in the Southeast Region by the NWCA at 197-pounds.
 
• Elizabethtown is 9-2 overall in dual matches and ranked No. 18 in the latest Team Dual Rankings by The Open Mat that came out yesterday.
 
- Brian Schneider is ranked No. 4 nationally by the NWCA at 165-pounds and he is No. 2 in the Mideast Region. He is also ranked fourth nationally by The Open Mat and d3wrestle.
 
- Ganon Smith is ranked No. 13 nationally by the NWCA at 174-pounds and he is No. 3 in the Mideast Region. He is listed as a Contender just outside the top 10 by d3wrestle.
 
- Ethan Liptzin is ranked No. 5 at 125 pounds in the Mideast Region, Gavin Fehr is No. 6 at 157, Will Davis is No. 6 at 184, Traisach Roland is No. 8 at 197, and Dylan Waller is No. 2 at 285.
 
- Davis is ranked 20th nationally by The Open Mat at 184-pounds.
 
- Waller is ranked ninth nationally by The Open Mat at 285-pounds. He is listed as an Honorable Mention by d3wrestle, just outside the top 18.
 
Weighing In – King's Dual
125 – C. Kerwin (18-13)
133 – M. Richardson (16-12)
141 – J. Bauer (20-6)
149 – J. Brady (6-14)
149 – B. Grater (11-15)
149 – R. Santiago (16-7)
149 – C. Thorpe (15-13)
157 – J. Hartranft (26-8)
165 – T. DuBoff (1-16)
174 – M. Warren (10-13)
184 – C. Nuss (14-2)
197 – C. Butka (29-2)
285 – C. Burkhart (26-7)
285 – T. Gitski (3-10)
 
Weighing In – Elizabethtown Dual
125 – C. Kerwin (18-13)
125 – C. Kucek (11-13)
133 – M. Richardson (16-12)
141 – J. Bauer (20-6)
149 – R. Santiago (16-7)
149 – C. Thorpe (15-13)
157 – J. Hartranft (26-8)
165 – T. DuBoff (1-16)
174 – J. Bilinski (10-14)
174 – L. Miller (18-15)
184 – H. Lowe (17-11)
197 – C. Butka (29-2)
285 – C. Burkhart (26-7)