WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University men's wrestling team picked up a pair of victories in a double dual on Thursday night at the Marts Center. The Colonels earned a 48-6 decision over Kean University before besting the University of Scranton 38-10.
 
Wilkes improved to 6-7 in dual matches on the season following the pair of wins.
 
In the match against Kean. Wilkes took eight of nine bouts by extra-points including three falls, one technical fall and one major decision. Thomas Longo (Montville, NJ/Montville) began the match for Wilkes with an 18-4 major decision over Domenic DeMarzo to give the Colonels a lead they would never relinquish. After back-to-back forfeits for Wilkes, Jacob Bettencourt (Dighton, MA/Bristol Plymouth) pinned Abdelrahman Marghany in 2:04 at 149-pounds to push the advantage to 18-0 after four bouts.
 
Kevin Murphy (Hopewell Junction, NY/John Jay) followed with another fall, pinning Jamison Carter in 4:59 at 157-pounds before Kean scored its only points of the match with a fall at 165-pounds. Hunter Troutman (Valley View, PA/Tri-Valley) earned a hard-fought 8-3 decision over George Travinsky at 174-pounds and Jared Bilinski (Dolgeville, NY/Dolgeville Central) claimed the Colonels third fall of the match when he pinned Koran Hinton in 25 seconds. Elliot Black (Bethlehem, PA/Freedom) (197) finished off the scoring for Wilkes with an 18-2 technical fall at 197-pounds before one last forfeit win ended the contest.
 
In the victory over Scranton, Gus Smith (Royersford, PA/Springford) started the match at 125-pounds with a 15-2 major decision over Luke Griffin to give the Colonels an early lead. Connor Kerwin (Totowa, NJ/Passaic Valley) (133) followed with a 17-1 technical fall in 4:30 over Mark Ortiz to push the advantage to 13-0. Austin Romberger made it three straight extra-points wins when he pinned Nick Gilmor in 2:44 at 141-pounds as the lead extended to 19-0.
 
Ben Grater (Saddle Brooke, NJ/Saddle Brook) (149) added a hard-fought 4-1 decision over Shkeb Nadir using a late takedown to seal the win. Connor Sklavounos then pinned Logan Donato in 1:37 to push the Wilkes lead to 28-0 with five bouts remaining.
 
Colton Thorpe (Southington, CT/Southington) (165) won 5-3, Patrick Gordon III (South Riding, VA/Freedom) (184) earned a 16-0 technical fall and
Lucas Miller (Kempton, PA/Northwestern Lehigh) (197) added another fall in 1:26 to round out the Wilkes scoring.
 
The Colonels return to the mat tomorrow night (Friday) when they take the short ride cross-town to King's College for a dual match starting at 7:00 p.m.
 
Wilkes 48, Kean 6
125 – T. Longo (W) major dec. Domenic DeMarzo (K) 18-4
133 – N. Rosa (W) won by forfeit
141 – W. Jimenez (W) won by forfeit
149 – J. Bettencourt (W) fall Abdelrahman Marghany (K) 2:04
157 – K. Murphy (W) fall Jamison Carter (K) 4:59
165 – Cole Pfeufer (K) fall B. Shannon (W) 3:58
174 – H. Troutman (W) dec. George Travinsky (K) 8-3
184 – J. Bilinski (W) fall Koran Hinton (K) :25
197 – E. Black (W) tech. fall Jadon McCoy (K) 18-2 (4:58)
285 – A. Perez (W) won by forfeit
 
Wilkes 38, Scranton 10
125 – G. Smith (W) major dec. Luke Griffin (S) 15-2
133 – C. Kerwin (W) tech. fall Mark Ortiz (S) 17-1 (4:30)
141 – A. Romberger (W) fall Nick Gillmor (S) 2:44
149 – B. Grater (W) dec. Shkeb Nadir (S) 4-1
157 – C. Sklavounos (W) fall Logan Donato (S) 1:37
165 – C. Thorpe (W) dec. Kevin McCarvill (S) 5-3
174 – Charles Kitching (S) major dec. O. Watson (W) 14-1
184 – P. Gordon III (W) tech. fall Quinton Laughlin (S) 16-0 (7:00)
197 – L. Miller (W) fall Joseph Epright (S) 1:26
285 –T. Gitski (W) fall Max Shnipes (S) :45