HAMPTON, Va. -- The No. 16 Kutztown University wrestling team faced adversity for the first time this weekend, trailing Ferrum more than halfway through Saturday night's American College Division Championship at the Virginia Duals. The Golden Bears dug in and won the last four bouts to claim the title, 27-14, and earn 19th-year head coach Robert Fisher his 200th career dual victory. Earlier in the day, Kutztown recorded a commanding 43-3 semifinal win over Apprentice School.

Fisher, who has coached 20 All-Americans and four national champions, is 200-98-2 in duals all-time. The Golden Bears have won 10 duals or more in 12 of the last 14 seasons, including a program-record 17 (17-4) in 2009-10.
 

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#16 KUTZTOWN 43, APPRENTICE SCHOOL 3
Semifinals

Kutztown punched its ticket to the finals with bonus points at five weight classes and a forfeit at another.

The Golden Bears took an early lead on Joe Renne's (Great Meadows, N.J./Hackettstown) 9-3 decision over Colton Messick in the first bout of the afternoon and went in front for good at 141 pounds when Anthony Petril (Clifton Heights, Pa./Upper Darby (Ursinus)) defeated Ty Boyd, 8-2.

Redshirt sophomore Austin Scrivani (Layton, N.J./Kittatinny Regional) earned his second fall of the weekend in 3:57 against Tyler Allen at 149. Chad Haegele (Warrington, Pa./Archbishop Wood) collected another bonus point for KU (4-1) with a 10-2 major decision over Tristan Mabe at 157.

Reed Custer (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) added to the Golden Bears' lead with an 8-5 decision against Chad Simmons at 165.

Kutztown finished with a barrage of points, as T.C. Warner (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley (Bloomsburg)) (174), Connor Rogovich (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West) (184) and seventh-ranked Andrew Dunn Jr. (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic (Virginia Tech)) (285) each picked up pins. James Meyer (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East) was a winner by forfeit at 197.

Apprentice School got its only points on a 6-2 decision by Kolin Johnson at 133 lbs.
 

#16 KUTZTOWN vs. APPRENTICE SCHOOL Saturday, January 12, 2019 | Hampton, Va. (Hampton Coliseum)
WT.		KUTZ	APP
125	Joe Renne (KUTZ) dec. Colton Messick (APP), 9-3	3	0
133	Kolin Johnson (APP) dec. Lucas Miller (KUTZ), 6-2	3	3
141	Anthony Petril (KUTZ) dec. Ty Boyd (APP), 8-2	6	3
149	Austin Scrivani (KUTZ) pinned Tyler Allen (APP), 3:57	12	3
157	Chad Haegele (KUTZ) major dec. Tristan Mabe (APP), 10-2	16	3
165	Reed Custer (KUTZ) dec. Chad Simmons (APP), 8-5	19	3
174	T.C. Warner (KUTZ) pinned Jacob Heyde (APP), 1:24	25	3
184	Connor Rogovich (KUTZ) pinned Jeremy Moseley (APP), 3:37	31	3
197	James Meyer (KUTZ) won by forfeit	37	3
285	#7 Andrew Dunn Jr. (KUTZ) pinned Steven Francisco (APP), 2:21	43	3
Kutztown Rankings (D2): NWCA

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#16 KUTZTOWN 27, FERRUM 14

The Golden Bears blew through their first round and semifinal opponents, but Ferrum, the 22nd-ranked team in NCAA Division III, provided a stiffer challenge.

Though Kutztown (5-1) fell behind Averett in the opening bout on Friday, it went on to win nine straight weight classes in a 42-6 victory.

Pins from Javiaughn Basnight (141) and Andrew Tolbert (165) had KU looking at a 15-10 deficit with just four matches remaining in the American College Division final.

Kutztown stepped up with a title on the line.

Warner and top-ranked Jeff Reimel (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) produced back-to-back technical falls at 174 and 184, respectively, and the Golden Bears won the last four weight classes to triumph, 27-14. Ferrum was docked a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Warner, who made his season debut this weekend, improved to 3-0 with his 16-0 (3:30) tech fall over Blake Rosenbaum. Reimel put up 18 unanswered points on Braden Homsey before their 184-pound match even reached the end of the first period. The senior from Lansdale registered his tech. fall in just 2:50.

James Meyer (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East) halted any thoughts of a Panthers comeback with a 5-3 decision at 197. Andrew Dunn Jr. (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic (Virginia Tech)) closed out KU's fifth dual win of the season with an 11-0 major decision shutout of Alveno Matthews.
 

#16 KUTZTOWN vs. FERRUM Saturday, January 12, 2019 | Hampton, Va. (Hampton Coliseum)
WT.		KUTZ	FERRUM
125	Matt Wilde (KUTZ) major dec. Carl Cramma (FERRUM), 11-2	4	0
133	Levi Englman (FERRUM) dec. Joe Renne (KUTZ), 7-3	4	3
141	Javiaughn Basnight (FERRUM) pinned Anthony Petril (KUTZ), 6:15	4	9
149	Austin Scrivani (KUTZ) dec. Caden Dalton (FERRUM), 12-8	7	9
157	Chad Haegele (KUTZ) dec. Austin Smith (FERRUM), 6-4	10	9
165	Andrew Tolbert (FERRUM) pinned Mitchell Camp (KUTZ), 6:15	10	15
174	T.C. Warner (KUTZ) tech. fall Blake Rosenbaum (FERRUM), 16-0 (3:30)	15	15
184	#1 Jeff Reimel (KUTZ) tech. fall Braden Homsey (FERRUM), 18-0 (2:50)	20	15
197	James Meyer (KUTZ) dec. Antavian Leary (FERRUM), 5-3	23	15
285	#7 Andrew Dunn Jr. (KUTZ) major dec. Alveno Matthews (FERRUM), 11-0	27	15
Ferrum docked 1 team point for unsportsmanlike conduct		27	14
Kutztown Rankings (D2): NWCA

 

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UP NEXT

The Golden Bears welcome 11 teams to O'Pake Fieldhouse next Friday and Saturday for the Kutztown University Duals. The Maroon and Gold are scheduled to face UNC Pembroke in their opening match at 6 p.m. on Friday. They'll also battle American International, Minot State and Queens (N.C.) on Saturday.