Wrestling 2/14/2017 9:30:00 PM

No. 24 Wilkes takes down Blue Jays 33-14

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. -- Elizabethtown fell behind 24th-ranked Wilkes University 33-0 before winning the final three weight classes Tuesday night at Thompson Gymnasium. The late push wasn't enough, however, as the Colonels claimed a 33-14 victory in the Blue Jays' final dual of the season.

Rocco Hladney (184 pounds), Luke Fernandez (197) and Eric Eckstein (285) were winners for the Blue and Gray.

Wilkes' front-loaded lineup included four wrestlers ranked or receiving consideration by the NWCA or D3wrestle.com in the first five weight classes.

Guesseppe Rea, a 2015 All-American currently holding the No. 2 spot in the NWCA poll and No. 7 in the D3wrestle.com poll at 125 pounds, opened with a 12-1 major decision over Philip Torresani and the Blue Jays (2-13) were left fighting an uphill battle the rest of the way.

D3wrestle.com Honorable Mention Pankil Chander extended the Colonels' (18-5) lead to 7-0 with a 5-2 decision over Bryan Pflanz at 133 and 2015 133-pound national champion Matthew Grossmann pinned Josh Paisley at 141.

Kyle Medrow's tech fall at 149, Nicholas Raccanelli's decision at 157, a forfeit victory by Michael Paskas at 165 and Justin Morel's pin at 174 gave Wilkes 33 unanswered points to start the match.

Hladney broke through with E-town's first win of the night at 184. He controlled Jacob Brook from start-to-finish in an 11-4 decision.

Senior 197-pounder Luke Fernandez, returning to the lineup after missing matches at King's (Feb. 3) and vs. Messiah (Feb. 10), recorded a 4:18 pin of Jordan Nochimson in his final match at Thompson Gymnasium.

Eckstein will head to the Mideast Regional one win shy of his first career 20-win season after dominating John Austin Tuesday. The junior from Bel Air, Maryland, earned his first career technical fall, 17-2, in 6:35, to improve to 19-13 on the season.

In exhibition action, freshman Connor Schmalz pinned Wilkes' Alexis Santana-Quintana in 51 seconds.

The Blue Jays finish the 2016-17 season with a 2-13 dual record and now target the Mideast Regional Championships at York College of Pennsylvania on Feb. 25-26. The top three finishers in each weight class at regionals will qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships in La Crosse, Wisconsin, March 10-11.

Elizabethtown vs. #24 Wilkes Tuesday, February 14, 2017 // Elizabethown, Pa. (Thompson Gymnasium)
Wt.		EC	WU
125	#2/7 Guesseppe Rea (WU) maj. dec. Philip Torresani (EC), 12-1	0	4
133	#NR/HM Pankil Chander (WU) dec. Bryan Pflanz (EC), 5-2	0	7
141	#2/2 Matthew Grossmann (WU) pinned Josh Paisley (EC), 3:54	0	13
149	Kyle Medrow (WU) technical fall Dan Smith (EC), 18-0 (2:45)	0	18
157	#NR/HM Nicholas Raccanelli (WU) dec. Chris Kummerer (EC), 9-4	0	21
165	Michael Paskas (WU) won by forfeit	0	27
174	Justin Morel (WU) pinned Dayne Ross (EC), 2:26	0	33
184	Rocco Hladney (EC) dec. Jacob Brook (WU), 11-4	3	33
197	#NR/CT Luke Fernandez pinned Jordan Nochimson (WU), 4:18	9	33
285	Eric Eckstein (EC) technical fall John Austin (WU), 17-2 (6:35)	14	33
Exhibitions
149	Cory Fleming (WU) pinned Christian Cooper (EC), 2:58
149	Bryce Bernardine (WU) pinned Khai Do (EC), 0:21
285	Connor Schmalz (EC) pinned Alexis Santana-Quintana (WU), 0:51
Rankings: NWCA / d3wrestle.com NR - Not ranked CT - Contender HM - Honorable Mention

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Players Mentioned

Eric Eckstein: 285; 5' 10"; Junior

Luke Fernandez: 197; 6' 2"; Senior

Rocco Hladney: 184; 5' 11"; Junior

Chris Kummerer: 157; 5' 7"; Junior

Bryan Pflanz: 133; 5' 5"; Senior

Dan Smith: 141/149; 5' 8"; Sophomore

Philip Torresani: 125; 5' 3"; Junior

Josh Paisley: 133/141; 5' 5"; Freshman

Christian Cooper: 141/149; 5' 6"; Freshman

Khai Do: 149/157; 5' 6"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Eric Eckstein
: 5' 10"; Junior
: 285

Luke Fernandez
: 6' 2"; Senior
: 197

Rocco Hladney
: 5' 11"; Junior
: 184

Chris Kummerer
: 5' 7"; Junior
: 157

Bryan Pflanz
: 5' 5"; Senior
: 133

Dan Smith
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: 141/149

Philip Torresani
: 5' 3"; Junior
: 125

Josh Paisley
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: 133/141

Christian Cooper
: 5' 6"; Freshman
: 141/149

Khai Do
: 5' 6"; Freshman
: 149/157