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Despite dropping a decision to Cortland in the John Reese Duals, the Wilkes wrestling team retained its No. 18 national ranking in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Poll released Tuesday.
The Colonels currently own a 4-1 record with wins over Hunter, NYU, Scranton and Centenary. Cortland’s win over Wilkes propelled the Red Dragons to No. 14 nationally.
Individually, senior Andrew Feldman is tabbed at No. 9 in the 285-pound weight class and marks his first national ranking of his career. Feldman is currently 6-0 this season with three of his victories coming via a pin. He recently defeated Joe Murphy of Cortland, who was ranked No. 8 nationally at the time of the match.
In the latest Metropolitan rankings, Wilkes has a member in each weight class ranked in the top-four or higher and has three that are ranked No. 1 in the conference. Ryan Wilson is ranked first at 133 with an overall record of 9-1, while Frank Heffernan is top at 174 with a record of 7-1. Zach Pizarro, who sports an overall record of 6-1, is ranked No. 1 at 197.
Freshmen Scott Mantua (125) and Nathan White (149), are ranked in the top-three of their respective weight classes, while sophomore Anthony Dattolo (141) and junior James Histed (157) are ranked third. Sophomore Ben Marich, freshman Jesse Villella are tabbed at third and fourth in 165 and 184 respectively, while Feldman is currently at third in the Metro in the 285-pound division.
Wilkes will look to continue its early success this Sunday when it travels to Columbus, Ohio to compete in the Buckeye/Keystone Challenge hosted by Ohio State University.