KUTZTOWN, PA (November 23, 2010) – The Kutztown University wrestling team will compete in its home opener Wednesday, November 23 as it will host Delaware Valley College and Elizabethtown College beginning at 11:00 a.m. at Keystone Arena.
KU is ranked 15th in the NCAA Division II National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) top 20 poll.
The Golden Bears are coming off their first match of the year as they competed in individual competition at the East Stroudsburg Open last weekend. Leading KU was Ricardo Pena and Justin Grant (Easton, PA/Easton) who each placed in their respective weight classes. Pena placed third in the 165 weight class as he finished with a 5-1 overall record, including two pinfalls. Grant (285) placed fourth with a 5-2 record and had one pinfall.
“We are looking to keep improving our skills and conditioning this week,” said head wrestling coach Rob Fisher. “We had a very nice start last week at the ESU open and we want to build on that.”
KU now prepares for its first dual meet of the season as it will face two very tough opponents. Also competing at the ESU Open, the Aggies of Del-Val placed two wrestlers, including Zak Andrews who captured the 141-pound title. The Aggies are currently eighth in the latest Division III national rankings.
Going up against Andrews will be sophomore Mitch Voelker (Shoemakersville, PA/Schuylkill Valley), who is sure to see a true test come Wednesday afternoon.
Tim Darling (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth) will make his 2010-11 season debut on Wednesday as he will compete at 174 pounds. He is ranked third in Division II in the 174-pound weight class. Darling is coming off an 18-3 record last season and will be a key factor in KU's success this season.
John Paukovits (Northampton, PA/Northampton) is also one of Kutztown's top wrestlers, as he is also ranked second in his respective weight class (157). Paukovits went 3-1 at the ESU Open including three major decisions.
Eric Sergent (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth Area HS) (184) had an impressive showing last weekend as well as he had a pinfall in just 44 seconds. Sergent went 2-2 overall.
Other wrestlers set to compete on Wednesday will be Kyle Johnson (Stewartsville, PA/Wyoming Seminary) (125), Austin Williams (Pen Argyl, PA/Pen Argyl) (133), Anthony Frost (West Reading, PA/Wyomissing) (149), Greg Tate (Carlisle, PA/Carlisle) (197) and Victor Montanez (Prospect Park, NJ/Passaic County Tech) (197).
“The main part of our schedule is after the new year,” said Fisher, “so during these early season matches we want to be better every time we step on the mat. Right now it is not about wins and losses; it is about getting steadily better.”
After Wednesday's two dual matches, Kutztown will compete at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championships on December 4. Bloomsburg will host this year's championships.
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