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KUTZTOWN, Pa. - As expected, the 13th-ranked Kutztown University wrestling team and the University of Pitt-Johnstown Mountain Cats went toe-to-toe in all 10 bouts Friday night in both teams' first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) match of the season. The Golden Bears pulled out multiple close decisions in the middle of the lineup to triumph 25-9 in front of a large, roaring crowd at Keystone Arena.

Last year, Kutztown (3-1) defeated UPJ for the first time in the program's history and was able to keep the streak going Friday night.

Pitt-Johnstown (1-1) opened-up an early 3-0 lead, but the Golden Bears stormed back to win seven of the final nine bouts to secure the victory.

Freshman Travis Roper (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) kick started the momentum for the Maroon and Gold in the 133-pound bout. In the third period, Roper escaped UPJ's Jim Harrison and immediately responded with a takedown. With Roper in good position, he quickly turned Harrison for a pin in a total time of 6:13.

Kutztown was able to squeak out the next three bouts by a margin of one point in each. In the 141-pound contest, Matt Benvenuto (Stanhope, N.J./Lenape Valley Regional) scored a clutch, late takedown in the final 30 seconds of the third period to defeat Malachi Krenzelak by a 3-2 decision. Joe Esposito (Washington Township, N.J./Saint Augustine Prep) took an early lead over UPJ's Cole Landowski, the eighth-ranked 149-pounder in the country, and held off for the upset win by a score of 3-2. In the 157-pound match, Matt Martoccio (Kintnersville, Pa./Council Rock South (Lock Haven)) had to claw his way back against Steve Edwards after falling to a 3-0 deficit in the first period. Martoccio was able to knot the score up at 4-4, and scored a reversal in the third period to win 6-5.

The 165-pound contest between seventh-ranked Bo Candelaria (Reading, Pa./Middletown) and UPJ's Tyler Reinhart turned out to be a marathon. Reinhart held a 2-0 third period lead, but two stalling calls on Reinhart evened the match and forced overtime. Neither grappler was able to gain an advantage until Reinhart scored a two-point near-fall in the sixth extra-time period to win 4-2.

With a win in the 174-pound bout, UPJ was still contending. Andre Petroski (Springfield, Pa./Springfield (Bloomsburg)) was able to extend Kutztown's lead to 18-9 with a comfortable 11-6 decision over Adam Nickelson at 184 pounds. Brandan Clark (Audubon, Pa./Methacton) scored a takedown with 45 seconds left in the third period of the 197-pound bout, giving Clark a close 4-3 victory over Nikos Garafola. Ziad Haddad (Orefield, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic (North Carolina)), the top-ranked heavyweight in the nation, closed out the Golden Bear triumph with a 9-1 major decision on riding time over D.J. Sims.

The Maroon and Gold return to action next weekend, Nov. 29, at the Northeast Duals in Troy, N.Y. Here, Kutztown will square off against Division I opponents North Carolina State and Cornell University.

Final Results - #13 Kutztown 25, Pitt-Johnstown 9
WT.	Name	Score
125	Evan Link (UPJ) dec. Nicholas DeMarco (Lyndhurst, N.J./David Brearley Middle) (KU), 7-3 (2:12)	3-0 UPJ
133	Travis Roper (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) (KU) pinned Jim Harrison (UPJ), 6:17	6-3 KU
141	Matt Benvenuto (Stanhope, N.J./Lenape Valley Regional) (KU) dec. Malachi Krenzelak (UPJ), 3-2	9-3 KU
149	Joe Esposito (Washington Township, N.J./Saint Augustine Prep) (KU) dec. #8 Cole Landowski (UPJ), 3-2	12-3 KU
157	Matt Martoccio (Kintnersville, Pa./Council Rock South (Lock Haven)) (KU) dec. Steve Edwards (UPJ), 6-5	15-3 KU
165	Tyler Reinhart (UPJ) dec. #7 Bo Candelaria (Reading, Pa./Middletown) (KU), 4-2 (OT)	15-6 KU
174	John Blankenship (UPJ) dec. Brandon Wolfe (New Castle, Del./Delcastle Technical) (KU), 4-2	15-9 KU
184	Andre Petroski (Springfield, Pa./Springfield (Bloomsburg)) (KU) dec. Adam Nickelson (UPJ), 11-6 (1:44)	18-9 KU
197	Brandan Clark (Audubon, Pa./Methacton) (KU) dec. Nikos Garafola (UPJ), 4-3	21-9 KU
285	#1 Ziad Haddad (Orefield, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic (North Carolina)) (KU) maj. dec. D.J. Sims (UPJ), 9-1 (1:08)	25-9 KU

Play-by-Play Summary:

125 - Nicholas DeMarco (Lyndhurst, N.J./David Brearley Middle) (KU) vs. Evan Link (UPJ)

Link opens match with takedown 30 seconds into first period, take 2-0 lead...Link allows DeMarco up after stoppage and lead 2-1 midway through first period...Link quickly responds with takedown for 4-1 lead...Link lets DeMarco up with 1:10 to go in period for 4-2 lead...Link leads 4-2 after first period...DeMarco chooses bottom to start second...DeMarco escapes and trails 4-3 with 20 seconds into second period...Both wrestlers grab an ankle at edge of mat midway through second period, but no points awarded...Link earns takedown with 50 seconds left in period for 6-3 lead...Link caution on restart....Link over two minutes of riding time with 6-3 lead entering third period...Neutral to start third...Little action in third period as Link earns 7-3 win after 2:12 of riding time.

UPJ leads KU, 3-0.


133 - Travis Roper (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) (KU) vs. Jim Harrison (UPJ)

Harrison turns Roper on edge of mat for takedown, Roper quickly escapes as Harrison leads 2-1....Roper earns takedown after restart and takes 3-2 lead with 1:00 left in first period...Roper leads 3-2 after first period, Roper defers, Harrison chooses bottom to start second...Action goes out of bounds of opening minute and brought back into middle of mat...Roper turns Harrison in middle of mat for three near-fall points and takes 6-3 lead...Harrison quickly escapes and trails Roper 6-3...Roper leads 6-3 entering third period, Roper on bottom to start third period...Harrison takes minute of riding time away to start third period...Roper escapes and leads 7-3...Roper immediately responds with a takedown, near-fall, and turns Harrison for a pin in a total time of 6:13.

KU leads UPJ 6-3.


141 - Matt Benvenuto (Stanhope, N.J./Lenape Valley Regional) (KU) vs. Malachi Krenzelak (UPJ)

Out of a restart, Krenzelak dives and grabs a leg...Benvenuto manages to break out of the hold with no points issued...Krenzelak chooses bottom to start second period with no score...Krenzelak escapes 15 seconds into period to take 1-0 lead...Benvenuto aggressive goes for shoulder hold at edge of mat, but unable to score points before action goes out of bounds...Krenzelak leads 1-0 after second period...Benvenuto to start on bottom to start third period...Benvenuto escapes six seconds into third period to tie match at 1-1...Benvenuto earns takedown with 30 seconds left in match to take 3-1 lead...action back to middle of mat with 15 seconds left in match....caution Benvenuto on restart...Krenzelak escapes with 10 seconds left in match and trails 3-2...Benvenuto wins 3-2 with 28 seconds of riding time.

KU leads match 9-3.


149 - Joe Esposito (Washington Township, N.J./Saint Augustine Prep) (KU) vs. #8 Cole Landowski (UPJ)

Esposito earns first takedown of match with Landowski falling out of bounds...Esposito leads 2-0...caution Landowski on restart...Landowski escapes moments after restart to trail 2-1...Esposito leads 2-1 after first period, chooses bottom to start second period...Esposito escapes and leads 3-1 10 seconds into second period...Esposito with couple of grapples, but action continues to restart in middle of mat...Esposito leads 3-1 after second period, Landowski on bottom to start third period...Landowski escapes seconds into period to trail 3-2...stalling warning on Esposito with 12 seconds left in period...caution Landowski on restart...Esposito wins 3-2 with 13 seconds of riding time.

KU leads match 12-3.


157 - Matt Martoccio (Kintnersville, Pa./Council Rock South (Lock Haven)) (KU) vs. Steve Edwards (UPJ)

Edwards earns takedown with two seconds left in first period, leads 2-0 after first period...Edwards on bottom to start second period...Edwards escapes six seconds into period to take 3-0 lead over Martoccio...Martoccio grabs leg and sweep Edwards down to mat to cut deficit to 3-2 midway through second period...Edwards escapes and leads 4-2...Martoccio avoids takedown and earns two points for himself to tie match at 4-4...Tied at 4-4 after second period, Martoccio on bottom to start third...Martoccio earns reversal and takes 6-4 lead early in third period...Edwards escapes 10 seconds later and trails 6-5...Martoccio wins 6-5 with 48 seconds of riding time.

KU leads UPJ, 15-3.


165 - #7 Bo Candelaria (Reading, Pa./Middletown) (KU) vs. Tyler Reinhart (UPJ)

Scoreless after first period...Candelaria defers, Reinhart on bottom to start second...Candelaria goes over one minute of riding time in second period...Reinhart reverses with 10 seconds left in second period to tie match at 2-0 after two period...Candelaria on bottom to start third with 1:32 of riding time...stalemate called 13 seconds into period...Reinhart called for second stalling call of match, Reinhart leads 2-1...Reinhart restarts on top with one minute to go trailing 2-1...Candelaria awarded point for stalling...match tied at 2-2 with 20 seconds to go...tied at 2-2 going into first overtime period...action brought back to middle of mat midway through first overtime period...still tied at 2-2 after first extra period...Reinhart wins toss, chooses bottom to start second overtime period...Candelaria on top for entire second overtime period...Reinhart on top for start of third overtime period...Reinhart on top for entire third overtime period...Neutral to start next period...action brought back to middle of mat with 33 seconds left...no action in period...Candelaria down to start next period...Reinhart picks up and drops Candelaria to mat, awarded two-point near-fall and leads match 4-2 heading into final 30-second period...action stopped with seven seconds left...caution Candelaria on restart...Reinhart wins match 4-2 in overtime.

KU leads UPJ, 15-6.


174 - Brandon Wolfe (New Castle, Del./Delcastle Technical) (KU) vs. John Blankenship (UPJ)

Scoreless after first period...Blankenship chooses bottom to start second period...Blankenship escapes eight seconds into period to take 1-0 lead...Moments later, Wolfe awarded one point for an illegal move by Blankenship, match tied at 1-1...Tied at 1-1 after second period...Wolfe on bottom to start third period...Wolfe escapes at edge of mat seven seconds into third period, leads 2-1...stalling warning called on Wolfe with 1:37 to go...Blankenship with takedown in middle of mat with 1:00 to go and takes 3-2 lead...action reset with 39 seconds left due to dangerous position...Blankenship controls final 39 seconds, finishes with 53 seconds of riding time, and wins match 4-2.

KU leads UPJ, 15-9.


184 - Andre Petroski (Springfield, Pa./Springfield (Bloomsburg)) (KU) vs. Adam Nickelson (UPJ)

Petroski with opening takedown 10 seconds into match...Petroski starts to turn Nickelson in middle of, but is reversed on as match is tied at 2-2...Petroski escapes moments later to take 3-2 lead midway through first period...Petroski earns takedown with 10 seconds left in first period to take 5-2 lead after first period...Petroski defers, Nickelson chooses bottom...Nickelson escapes right away and trails 5-3...Petroski earns takedown in final seconds of second period, takes 7-3 lead entering third period...Petroski on bottom to start third period...Petroski caution on restart nine seconds into third period...Petroski immediately escapes for 8-3 lead...Petroski with a leg sweep to take 10-3 lead midway through third period...Nickelson escapes with 20 seconds left to cut deficit to 10-4...action stopped at edge of mat with four seconds left...Nickelson with takedown in final seconds of match, but Petroski wins 11-6 after 1:44 of riding time.

KU leads UPJ, 18-9.


197 - Brandan Clark (Audubon, Pa./Methacton) (KU) vs. Nikos Garafola (UPJ)

Clark with quick takedown on restart, followed by escape by Garafola for 2-1 Clark lead in opening minute...Clark kicks out Garafola's leg in neutral position...action stopped with no points awarded...Clark leads 2-1 after first period...Garafola on bottom to start second period...Clark lets Garafola up to tie match at 2-2...Tied at 2-2 after second period... Clark goes neutral to start third period...Clark with takedown with 45 seconds left in third period to take 4-2 lead...Garafola escapes seconds later to trail 4-3...Clark controls final seconds to win 4-3 with 21 seconds of riding time.

KU leads UPJ, 21-9.


285 - #1 Ziad Haddad (Orefield, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic (North Carolina)) (KU) vs. D.J. Sims (UPJ)

Hadded grabs Sims' foot and hauls him in for first takedown of match and 2-0 lead...Haddad leads 2-0 after first period...Sims chooses bottom to start second period, escapes in opening seconds and trails Haddad 2-1...action goes out of bounds midway through seconds period...Sims misses dive, caught by Haddad, but no points awarded as action goes out of bounds...unsportsmanlike conduct on Sims, Haddad awarded point at 3-1...Haddad catches leg and earns takedown at edge of mat for 5-1 lead late in second period...Haddad leads 5-1 after two periods...Haddad chooses bottom to start third period...Haddad escapes after second restart, leads 6-1 30 seconds into third period...Haddad with takedown in final seconds for 8-1 win, 9-1 major decision after 1:08 riding time.

KU wins match over UPJ, 25-9.