SCRANTON, Pa. – Down 21-16 going into the final two matches, the Elizabethtown College wrestling team snagged the final two decisions to top Scranton, 23-21, Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Blue Jays improve to 2-2 on the season, while the Royals fall to 5-2.
The day started with sophomore Ethan Liptzin improving to 13-6 on the season with an 11-0 major decision over Matthew DiGennarro at 125 to give Elizabethtown the early 4-0 lead. It was Liptzin's second major decision of the year and he has now outscored opponents 11-3 through four duals.
Scranton scored a decision a 133 and then a pin at 141 to move ahead 9-4 before junior Shane Strausser tallied his fifth pin of the season, topping Brandon Judge in 6:03 to put the Blue Jays back on top 10-9. The junior is second on the team with 16 wins (16-10).
Elizabethtown extended its lead to 16-9 at 157 after an illegal move injured senior Nick Gonzalez and awarded the Blue Jays six points after the forfeit.
Scranton recovered at 165 and 174 with a combined nine points between the two duals to move ahead 18-16 setting up a pivotal match at 184 between junior Jakob Latham and Hunter Marhan. The Royals stormed out to an early advantage as Marhan took a 6-0 lead, but Latham recovered from the early deficit and battled back. The junior was unable to score the victory, but stopped Marhan from scoring any bonus points, falling 12-9, and only allowed Scranton to extend its lead to 21-16.
Junior Tyler Phenegar stopped the Royals run at 197, tallying the 12-2 major decision over Stephen Murphy setting up the winner-take-all dual at 285. Sophomore Dylan Waller left no doubt at the final weight class, shutting out John Murphy 6-0 to give Etown the 23-21 victory to close out the 2021 portion of its schedule. Waller now leads the Blue Jays in wins (19) and pins (6).
Elizabethtown returns to action on Saturday, January 8 at the Maganaro Duals hosted by Ursinus. Matches begin at 10 a.m.
125: Ethan Liptzin (ETown) maj. dec. Matthew DiGennarro (UofS), 11-0 (4-0, ETown)
133: Matthew Murawski (UofS) dec. Scott Reagan (ETown), 11-4 (4-3, ETown)
141: Anthony Clarizio (UofS) pinned Zach Rupp (ETown), 2:51 (9-4, Scranton)
149: Shane Strausser (ETown) pinned Brandon Judge (UofS), 6:03 (10-9, ETown)
157: Nick Gonzalez (ETown) won by forfeit over Daniel Kosinski (UofS) (16-9, ETown)
(Illegal move by Kosinski)
165: Jeremiah Oakes (UofS) dec. Brian Schneider (ETown), 4-3 (16-12, ETown)
174: William Laughlin (UofS) pinned Kai Ramm (ETown), 1:41 (18-16, Scranton)
184: Hunter Marhan (UofS) dec. Jakob Latham (ETown), 12-9 (21-16, Scranton)
197: Tyler Phenegar (ETown) maj. dec. Stephen Murphy (UofS), 12-2 (21-20, Scranton)
285: Dylan Waller (ETown) dec. John Murphy (UofS), 6-0 (23-21, ETown)
