JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – There may be a rivalry brewing between the Kutztown University and Mercyhurst College wrestling teams after an exciting match Friday night.  For the second straight year, the dual meet between the two schools would come down to the final bout. 
 
Unfortunately for the Golden Bears, Mercyhurst won the final two matches to earn a 21-17 decision in the first match of the Super Region I Duals at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.
 
Kutztown (3-4) won four of the six matches as some late Laker success would stand as the difference maker.  Mercyhurst leads the overall series, 4-2, and is ranked eighth in the latest NCAA Division II Top 20 poll.
 
Junior Giovanni Ortiz (Reading, PA/Reading) (Reading, PA/Reading) has been a leader for KU all season and showed his years of experience against some of the top competition in the country on Friday.  His opponent, Pat Leahy, held a winning record for the Lakers as Ortiz rolled to a 14-5 major decision to give KU a two-point, 17-15 lead late in the match.
 
Bionojel Candelaria (Reading, PA/Middletown) and Micah Bollinger (Mifflinburg, PA/Mifflinburg Area) (Mifflinburg, PA/Mifflinburg) turned in back-to-back victories at 157 and 165, respectively.  Candelaria defeated redshirt junior Jordan Shields, 3-0, to earn his tenth win of the season.  It was Shields' third loss of the year as he was ranked sixth in the nation entering the match.
 
Even more impressive, Bollinger dropped a previous national champion and Division II's third ranked wrestler in the following match.  He pinned Mercyhurst's Josh Shields in 2:04.  It was his fifth pin of the season and fastest as well.  The six-points gave KU a 13-9 lead with four matches remaining.

"This was by far our greatest effort of the year," KU head coach Robert Fisher said.  "From top to bottom, it was a real exciting match for our guys.  It was unfortunate we had a couple close matches not go our way, but we are getting better and better and we are definitely heading in the right direction."
 
Sophomore Evan Yenolevich (New Tripoli, PA/Northwestern Lehigh (Edinboro)) (New Tripoli, PA/Northwestern Lehigh) gave Kutztown the early lead with a monumental win at 133.  He squared off with freshman Kody Young who entered the match at 22-6 on the season.  Yenolevich controlled most of his match to take an 11-3 major decision for Kutztown.
 
Mitch Voelker (Shoemakersville, PA/Schuylkill Valley) (Leesport, PA/Schuylkill Valley) and Jackson Stabile (Lenhartsville, Pa./Hamburg) (Lenhartsville, PA/Hamburg) have shown signs of great improvement as of late and battled Mercyhurst down to the wire in their matches at 141 and 149, respectively.  Each wrestler took their match to the final whistle before falling by one-point decisions.
 
Kutztown returns to the mat on Saturday as it continues competition at the regional duals.  KU takes on Ohio Valley at 9 a.m. and Anderson University at 1 p.m.