ERIE, PA (January 29, 2011) – The Kutztown University wrestling team won its final three matches Saturday afternoon, lifting it to a 22-12 dual meet win over 14th-ranked Gannon University. (COMPLETE RESULTS)
The Golden Bears saw some top individual performances on Saturday as they won six of the 10 matches. JuJu Drummond (Easton, PA/Easton) defeated Andrew Milanak, ranked eighth in the country at 141 and the top wrestler in Super Region I, by a close 4-3 decision. Drummond is a new face to KU after recently transferring from Millersville and already has three dual meet wins this season.
After being down 12-10, Kutztown finished the match in style by winning the final three matches of the day. Seth Csaszar (Northampton, PA/Northampton) won a close 4-3 decision at 184, Giovanni Ortiz (Reading, PA/Reading) (197) won a 9-7 decision and Justin Grant (Easton, PA/Easton) closed out the match by pinning Gannon's Marino Quersio in 6 minutes, 57 seconds. Grant now has 18 total wins this season, four of which coming by fall.
At 149 pounds, John Paukovits (Northampton, PA/Northampton) controlled his match against Ethan Swope and won by a 10-2 major decision. Paukovits came into Saturday's match ranked fourth in the region, whereas Swope is currently second in the region at 149.
“This was a very competitive weekend for us,” said head wrestling coach Rob Fisher. “We knew the high level of talent Gannon was going to bring and I think we really showed just how good we can be. A lot of our guys got some key wins for us by taking down nationally-ranked competition. Overall, it was a successful weekend for us.”
Austin Williams (Pen Argyl, PA/Pen Argyl) also defeated one of Gannon's top wrestlers. Williams, ranked fourth in the region at 133, defeated fifth-ranked John Fleming in a 10-5 decision. Saturday's win for Williams was just one of the many prolific victories he's had as of late, and should be moving up in the regional rankings very soon.
Despite coming short in some very tight matches, Ricky Pena (Reading, PA/Reading) and Zach Marlatt (Slatington, PA/Northern Lehigh) battled against two of the top wrestlers in the region in their respective weight classes. Pena (165) dropped a 6-4 decision against third-ranked Zack McKendree, and Marlatt took the top wrestler in the region at 174 to the limit before eventually falling 15-11.
The Golden Bears return to action on Tuesday, February 1 as they will compete in their first of three consecutive matches at home. KU will host Millersville University at Keystone Arena beginning at 7:30 p.m.
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