WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University wrestling team went 2-1 in its matches hosting the John Reese Duals at the Marts Center Sunday. The Colonels opened with a 30-19 victory over Washington & Jefferson College and then held off Rochester Institute of Technology 22-21 in the second match. Wilkes fell 24-20 to SUNY Oneonta in a tight final match.

Wilkes improved its overall dual-match record to 10-12.

Wilkes was all over Washington & Jefferson (W&J) from the outset putting the opening match of the John Reese Duals out of reach by scoring victories in the first six bouts including three falls. Kyle Trout (Mount Laurel, NJ/Lenape) was awarded the forfeit victory at 125-pounds before Dylan O'Connor (Somerset, NJ/Bishop George Ahr) put the Colonels ahead 12-0 by earning the first fall of the day in 2:25 over Mike Smith at 133-pounds. Matthew Grossmann (Lancaster, PA/Manheim Township) made it back-to-back falls with a pin of Mike Heinl in the second period at the 4:34 mark of the 141-pound bout.

Josh Evans (Palmerton, PA/Palmerton) followed with a 7-1 decision victory over Sam Florentino at 149-pounds and Michael Brown (Plains, PA/Coughlin) defeated Josh Armstrong 6-3 at 157-pounds to run the Wilkes lead to 24-0 after five bouts. Ashton Gyenizs (Madison, CT/Daniel Hand) provided the final fall for the Colonels at 165-pounds when he picked up the first period fall against Lawrence Schrott at the 2:26 mark.

The Presidents would gain ground late with four-consecutive wins but it was not enough to comeback from the 30-0 lead that the Colonels built. W&J picked up a major decision at 174-pounds and followed it up with a fall at 184-pounds. The Presidents then earned a decision victory at 197-pounds and a fall in the heavyweight match to provide the 30-19 final score.

The Colonels started the second match of the day with a flurry by gaining a 17-0 lead over Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) after four bouts. Trout started the match with a tight 4-2 decision victory at 125-pounds against Andrew Flanagan. Jake Dimarsico (Thiells, NY/North Rockland) followed with a 6-4 decision over Alex Prunoske at 133-pounds to increase the early Wilkes lead to 6-0.

Grossmann was awarded a forfeit win at 141-pounds and then Evans followed with a 17-1 technical fall victory at 6:46 in the 149-pound bout against Cole Murphy to make it 17-0 in favor of the Colonels. RIT would then get on the board with a fall at 157-pounds. Gyenizs responded for Wilkes with a 19-2 technical fall in the 165-pound bout against Colby Hall to build the Colonels lead back to 22-6.

The lead proved to be just enough as the Tigers won the final four bouts. After two decision victories and a major decision Wilkes lead 22-16 heading into the heavyweight bout with RIT in need of a fall to force a tie. Nasser McCummings (Stafford, VA/North Stafford) was able to fight off a pin attempt late in the third period by Connor Calkins and the 16-1 technical fall victory was only enough for the Tigers to pull to within one point in the team score with Wilkes hanging on for the 22-21 victory.

The final match of the day featured Wilkes against SUNY Oneonta with both teams coming in undefeated on the day. Trout picked up his second decision victory of the afternoon at 125-pounds by besting Michael Muldoon 10-6. Austin Sisco, the No. 9 ranked wrestler at 133-pounds then scored a 6-1 decision against Dimarsico to even the match at 3-3. The Colonels took eight points in the next two matches with two major decisions. Grossmann took down Kevin Knox 14-2 in the 141-pound bout and Evans beat Tyler Brazinski 15-6 at 149-pounds.

Daniel Murphy narrowly walked away with a 3-2 decision victory against Brown in the 157-pound bout to bring the Red Dragons to within an 11-6 margin. Gyenizs then won his third bout of the day with a 10-6 decision against Ryan Marszal at 165-pounds and John Ritter (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) scored a fall in 2:23 over Austin Carr at 174-pounds to build the Wilkes lead to 20-6.

Three-straight falls by the Red Dragons in the final three bouts of the match were enough to push SUNY Oneonta past Wilkes for the 24-20 victory. Lantze Lange at 184-pounds in 4:06, Peter Pjetri at 197-pounds in 4:03, and the No. 4 ranked heavyweight James Bethel in 1:46 scored the falls.

After the competition in the John Reese Duals, W&J has a 7-9 dual-match record, RIT stands at 8-7, and SUNY Oneonta improved to 9-2.

The Colonels head to Ewing, N.J. for their next match where they will take on No. 19 The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) at 7:30 p.m. Friday, February 2.

Wilkes 30, W&J 19
125 – K. Trout (W) won by forfeit
133 – D. O'Connor (W) fall M. Smith (WJ) 2:25
141 – M. Grossmann (W) fall M. Heinl (WJ) 4:34
149 – J. Evans (W) dec. S. Florentino (WJ) 7-1
157 – M. Brown (W) dec. J. Armstrong (WJ) 6-3
165 – A. Gyenizs (W) fall L. Schrott (WJ) 2:26
174 – J. Walker (WJ) major dec. J. Morel (W) 15-3
184 – A. Miller (WJ) fall J. Ritter (W) 1:10
197 – W. Oberschelp (WJ) dec. M. Almecky (W) 8-2
285 – D. Allen (WJ) fall R. Thompson (W) 4:28
 
Wilkes 22, RIT 21
125 – K. Trout (W) dec. A. Flanagan (R) 4-2
133 – J. Dimarsico (W) dec. A. Prunoske (R) 6-4
141 – M. Grossmann (W) won by forfeit
149 – J. Evans (W) tech. fall S. Murphy (R) 17-1 (5:46)
157 – K. Winters (R) fall B. Bici (W) 4:59
165 – A. Gyenizs (W) tech. fall C. Hall (R) 19-2 (5:25)
174 – J. Lupisella (R) dec. J. Ritter (W) 10-6
184 – J. Cutugno (R) dec. M. Judge (W) 6-3
197 – M. Cicco (R) major dec. M. Almecky (W) 12-3
285 – C. Calkins (R) tech. fall N. McCummings (W) 16-1 (6:48)
 
SUNY Oneonta 24, Wilkes 20
125 – K. Trout (W) dec. M. Muldoon (O) 10-6
133 – A. Sisco (O) dec J. Dimarsico (W) 6-1
141 – M. Grossmann (W) major dec. K. Knox (O) 14-2
149 – J. Evans (W) major dec. T. Brazinski (O) 15-6
157 – D. Murphy (O) dec. M. Brown (W) 3-2
165 – A. Gyenizs (W) dec. R. Marszal (O) 10-6
174 – J. Ritter (W) fall A. Carr (O) 2:23
184 – L. Lange (O) fall M. Judge (W) 4:06
197 – P. Pjetri (O) fall N. McCummings (W) 4:03
285 – J. Bethel (O) fall R. Thompson (W) 1:46
 
Exhibitions:
125 – M. Savello (O) dec. P. Miko (W) 7-5
133 – K. Knox (O) dec. D. O'Connor (W) 7-0
133 – A. DeSousa (O) fall P. Miko (W) 1:14
141 – A. Chu (O) dec. E. Neff (W) 8-2
149 – M. Nagy (WJ) major dec. B. Bici (W) 12-3
197 – T. Snow (R) fall L. Huling (W) 4:08
197 – M. Almeky (W) dec. J. Monteleone (R) 6-4 (OT)