ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. -- Point-scoring opportunities are at a premium when facing a top-10 nationally-ranked team. Elizabethtown learned that tough lesson on Wednesday night when it let a few slip away early and never got back on track in a 42-0 defeat against No. 7 York (Pa.).

The Spartans, featuring four top-10 individually ranked grapplers by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) and three by d3wrestle.com, avenged last year's 22-19 upset victory by the Blue Jays.

E-town (0-1) had multiple chances to grab a lead in its home opener at Thompson Gymnasium, but York used late third-period rallies to keep the Jays off the board.

Sophomore Austin Jones built a 6-2 lead over Jared Kuhns at 125 lbs. after a period. Jones collected a pair of takedowns and a two-point nearfall. He would only yield an escape in the second period to hold a three-point edge going to the final period.

Down 7-6 in the waning seconds, Kuhns scored a takedown and a four-point nearfall to stun Jones, 12-8.

At 133 lbs., E-town's Josh McLaughlin twice came from behind in the third period to tie his match with Michael Rubin. McLaughlin used a reversal with 1:27 left to overcome a 3-1 deficit and took advantage of a penalty point to make it 4-4 in the final minute. Rubin would prevail, however. The Spartan (1-0) freshman registered a takedown with 18 seconds left and tacked on a point for riding time to squeak out a 7-4 decision.

The Blue Jays would suffer heartbreak for a third consecutive match when York's Blake Shalbert charged back from a 5-1 disadvantage with six points in the final 1:53 of the third period to knock off Colton Rex, 7-6, in the 141 lb. bout. Shalbert's winning takedown came with just 10 seconds remaining.

Instead of having a nine-point lead, Elizabethtown instead found itself trying to make up lost ground. Unfortunately for the hosts, York's heaviest hitters awaited them.

Defending national-runner up Greg Warner, ranked second in both major polls at 149 lbs., started a run of five straight bouts with bonus points for the Spartans. Warner's technical fall was followed by a major decision from nationally-ranked Eric Hutchinson (157) and pins by Jesse Rocco (157), nationally-ranked Joe Sindoni (174) and nationally-ranked Frankie Krauss (184).

Nikolay Savin hung tough in a 7-2 loss to nationally-ranked No. 6/10 Hasan Alic at 197, while Max Rhoden suffered a late takedown to fall, 3-1, in the heavyweight match against Joe Soreco.

Elizabethtown will return to tournament action this coming Saturday at the Ursinus Fall Brawl. The Fall Brawl starts a run of three straight tournaments for the Blue Jays, who won't compete in another dual match until they host Wilkes on Saturday, Dec. 8.

 

ELIZABETHTOWN vs. #7 YORK (PA.) Wednesday, November 7, 2018 // Elizabethtown, Pa. (Thompson Gymnasium)
WT.		ETOWN	YCP
125	Jared Kuhns (YCP) dec. Austin Jones (ETOWN), 12-8	0	3
133	Michael Rubin (YCP) dec. Josh McLaughlin (ETOWN), 7-4	0	6
141	Blake Shalbert (YCP) dec. Colton Rex (ETOWN), 7-6	0	9
149	#2/2 Greg Warner (YCP) tech fall Cole Cameron (ETOWN), 16-0 (2:25)	0	14
157	#9/CT Eric Hutchinson (YCP) major dec. Kyle Bythell (ETOWN), 15-6	0	18
165	Jesse Rocco (YCP) pinned Colton Shriner (ETOWN), 1:03	0	24
174	#NR/9 Joe Sindoni (YCP) pinned Hunter Beaudet (ETOWN), 2:32	0	30
184	#9/CT Frankie Krauss (YCP) pinned Dayne Ross (ETOWN), 2:14	0	36
197	#6/10 Hasan Alic (YCP) dec. Nikolay Savin (ETOWN), 7-2	0	39
285	Joe Soreco (YCP) dec. Max Rhoden (ETOWN), 3-1	0	42
EXHIBITION MATCHES
149	Alex Hin (YCP) dec. Nick Gonzalez (ETOWN), 16-11
165	Tim Griffith (YCP) pinned Hunter Beaudet (ETOWN), 3:19
Rankings: NWCA / d3wrestle.com NR - Not Ranked CT - Contender HM - Honorable Mention