Wrestling 12/8/2017 9:15:00 PM

Wilkes sneaks by wrestling with late bonus points

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. -- Elizabethtown nearly led wire-to-wire Friday night at Wilkes, but a forfeit at 184 pounds allowed the Colonels to leave the Marts Center with a 24-19 victory over the Blue Jays.

It was an unsettling finish for the Blue Jays (1-2), who won the first three weights to take an 11-0 advantage. The teams didn't start with the traditional 125-pound weight class, instead opting to begin at 197. That gave nationally-ranked Rocco Hladney the stage, and the E-town senior came through with a 21-4 technical fall 23 seconds into the third period.

Fellow seniors Eric Eckstein and Philip Torresani followed with hard-fought decisions at 285 and 125.

Wilkes answered with two straight victories to close within 11-6, but valiant efforts by the Jays' Josh McLaughlin (133) and Josh Paisley (141) kept the Colonels (6-6) from scoring any bonus points. Paisley went up against 2014 NCAA Division III National Champion Matthew Grossmann, currently ranked sixth in the nation by the NWCA, and held his own in a 7-2 defeat.

Elizabethtown sandwiched major decisions from d3wrestle.com No. 9 Joe Ghione at 149 and Chris Kummerer at 165 around a pin from Wilkes' Kyle Medrow at 157 to lead 19-12 with two bouts left.

The Blue Jays needed any victory from freshman Tyler Mentzer at 174, but the Colonels' more experienced John Ritter, a junior, was able to secure a pin at 3:24 of the second period to essentially give Wilkes the win.

E-town has been without Dayne Ross, their regular at 184, since mid-November, and had to yield the weight class to the Colonels Friday evening, as Matthew Judge stepped on the mat for the six points necessary to flip the result in Wilkes' favor.

In exhibition action, Nikolay Savin won by major decision, 11-2, over Moustafa Almeky at 197 pounds.

The Blue Jays head into their holiday break before reconvening in late December. They'll return to the mat in 2018 at the Ursinus-hosted North-South Duals on Saturday, Jan. 6.

Elizabethtown at Wilkes Friday, December 8, 2017 // Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (Marts Center)
Wt.		EC	WU
197 *	#6/CT Rocco Hladney (EC) tech fall Nasser McCummings (WU), 21-4 (5:23)	5	0
285	Eric Eckstein (EC) dec. Jacob Huling (WU), 5-2	8	0
125	Philip Torresani (EC) dec. Kyle Trout (WU), 6-4	11	0
133	Jake Dimarsico (WU) dec. Josh McLaughlin (EC), 3-1	11	3
141	#6/CT Matthew Grossmann (WU) dec. Josh Paisley (EC), 7-2	11	6
149	#NR/9 Joe Ghione (EC) maj. dec. Josh Evans (WU), 16-7	15	6
157	#NR/HM Kyle Medrow (WU) pinned Chad Rosenberger (EC), 1:53	15	12
165	Chris Kummerer (EC) maj. dec. Ashton Gyenizs (WU), 10-1	19	12
174	John Ritter (WU) pinned Tyler Mentzer (EC), 3:24	19	18
184	Matthew Judge (WU) won by forfeit	19	24
Exhibition
133	Dylan O'Connor (WU) pinned Austin Jones (EC), 5:37
157	Michael Brown (WU) tech fall Eli Perry (EC), 17-0 (3:00)
197	Nikolay Savin (EC) maj. dec. Moustafa Almeky (WU), 11-2
* Match started at 197 lbs. Rankings: NWCA / d3wrestle.com NR - Not ranked CT - Contender HM - Honorable Mention

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Players Mentioned

Eric Eckstein: 285; 5' 10"; Senior

Rocco Hladney: 197; 5' 11"; Senior

Chris Kummerer: 157/165; 5' 7"; Senior

Josh Paisley: 141; 5' 5"; Sophomore

Chad Rosenberger: 157/165; 5' 11"; Junior

Dayne Ross: 184; 6' 0"; Sophomore

Philip Torresani: 125/149; 5' 3"; Senior

Joe Ghione: 141/149; 5' 5"; Senior

Austin Jones: 125/133; 5' 3"; Freshman

Josh McLaughlin: 133; 5' 7"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Eric Eckstein
: 5' 10"; Senior
: 285

Rocco Hladney
: 5' 11"; Senior
: 197

Chris Kummerer
: 5' 7"; Senior
: 157/165

Josh Paisley
: 5' 5"; Sophomore
: 141

Chad Rosenberger
: 5' 11"; Junior
: 157/165

Dayne Ross
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: 184

Philip Torresani
: 5' 3"; Senior
: 125/149

Joe Ghione
: 5' 5"; Senior
: 141/149

Austin Jones
: 5' 3"; Freshman
: 125/133

Josh McLaughlin
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: 133