KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- The 17th-ranked Kutztown University wrestling team got back into Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) dual action with a bang, upsetting 11th-ranked Mercyhurst, 19-17, Saturday afternoon at Keystone Arena. The Golden Bears weren't able to replicate their late-match heroics in the nightcap, however, dropping a 36-9 decision to 21st-ranked Gannon.

Collin Wickramaratna (Malton, N.J./Cherokee) (133 lbs.) and top-ranked heavyweight Andrew Dunn Jr. (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic) had standout performances for the Maroon and Gold, going 2-0 on the day. Wickramaratna upset Mercyhurst's nationally-ranked Eric Bartos with a second period pin and improved to 18-2 on the season, while Dunn clinched the Mercyhurst match for KU with a decision and remained unbeaten on the year (14-0) with his 40th career win as a Golden Bear in the loss to Gannon.
 

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#17 KUTZTOWN 19, #11 MERCYHURST 17

Kutztown jumped out to a 9-0 lead on the strength of Joe Renne's (Great Meadows, N.J./Hackettstown) 10-7 decision over Jacob Ruggeri at 125 and a surprise pin from Wickramaratna at 133 before Mercyhurst (9-3, 3-1 PSAC) rallied back in the middle stages of the match to lead 14-13.

The Lakers' Luke McGonigal, eighth at 197 in the latest NWCA national rankings, blanked KU's Robert Spezza (East Stroudsburg, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic), 7-0, to give the visitors their final lead, 17-16. Dunn Jr. put the Golden Bears (8-2, 2-1 PSAC) on his back, though, scoring a takedown with 43 seconds remaining to top No. 3 Jacob Robb in a highly-anticipated match of top-five heavyweights, 3-2, and give Kutztown a 19-17 victory.

Wickramaratna continued to state his claim for a spot in the top 10 with a stunning victory over eighth-ranked Bartos. Bartos led 3-0 after an early second-period escape, but all it took was one move from the KU sophomore to flip the match upside down. Wickramaratna hit a takedown with 1:10 left in the period and the pin followed two seconds later. The pro-KU crowd erupted as Wickramaratna pumped his fists towards the Golden Bears' bench.

Two weight classes later, sophomore Michael Cusick (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) generated a crucial bonus point when his last-second takedown and 1:09 of riding time turned a decision into a 13-5 major over Alex Samson at 149. Cusick finished with five takedowns in all, including three in the third.

A penalty point with one second left and additional riding time point helped Mercyhurst's Trever Begin erase a 3-1 deficit against James Potts (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West) at 184 and send the match to overtime, but Potts recovered to score the deciding takedown 17 seconds into the extra session for a 5-3 win. Renne's decision for KU at 125 was manufactured in come-from-behind fashion. Two takedowns and an escape helped the Great Meadows, New Jersey, native overcome a 6-5 disadvantage in the final two minutes.

 

#17 KUTZTOWN vs. #11 MERCYHURST Saturday, February 1, 2020 | Kutztown, Pa. (Keystone Arena)
WT.		KUTZ	MERC
125	Joe Renne (KUTZ) dec. Jacob Ruggeri (MERC), 10-7	3	0
133	Collin Wickramaratna (KUTZ) pinned #8 Eric Bartos (MERC), 3:51	9	0
141	Alexis Soriano (MERC) dec. Jake Jones (KUTZ), 10-5	9	3
149	Michael Cusick (KUTZ) major dec. Alex Samson (MERC), 13-5	13	3
157	Mike Clark (MERC) dec. AJ Bencivenga (KUTZ), 10-5	13	6
165	#5 Logan Grass (MERC) tech. fall Connor Rogovich (KUTZ), 18-0 (3:00)	13	11
174	Kevin Holman (MERC) dec. Anthony Emig (KUTZ), 7-3	13	14
184	James Potts (KUTZ) dec. Trever Begin (MERC), 5-3 (SV1)	16	14
197	#8 Luke McGonigal (MERC) dec. Robert Spezza (KUTZ), 7-0	16	17
285	#1 Andrew Dunn Jr. (KUTZ) dec. #3 Jacob Robb (MERC), 3-2	19	17

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#21 GANNON 36, #17 KUTZTOWN 9

Knocking off one nationally-ranked opponent marked a great start to the night for the Golden Bears, but two wasn't in the cards.

Gannon avenged last year's 18-17 loss to Kutztown out in Erie with a commanding 36-9 victory in Keystone Arena on Saturday night.

The Golden Knights (5-5, 3-1 PSAC) earned 12 bonus points on three pins and three major decisions, pulling away on consecutive pins by Luigi Yates (174), Joel Leise (184) and Jud Ramage (197).

KU (8-3, 2-2 PSAC) never led in the match, but was tied at three briefly following Wickramaratna's 18th win of the season. The Marlton, New Jersey, product waged a marathon battle with Austin Hertel, eventually prevailing on 16 seconds of riding time in a match decided by tiebreaker. Both wrestlers used escapes in regulation to sit even at 1-1 through seven minutes of action. Wickramaratna held an edge in riding time through the second OT, in which both he and Hertel managed to escape from a bottom starting position, and maintained that through a third one-minute session.

Dunn Jr., the defending national champion at 285, ran his KU record to 40-2 and kept his unblemished 2019-20 season record intact at 14-0 with a 4:29 pin of Gehrig Hutchison to close out the match. The pin was Dunn Jr.'s fourth of the season.

At 149, Cusick put up a valiant fight against 12th-ranked Dom Means in his bid for a two-win evening, but Means' early third-period escape proved to be the difference in a 3-2 result.

Kutztown travels out to Seton Hill next Saturday for a 7 p.m. dual with the Griffins, before returning home to wrap up their 2019-20 home slate with Senior Night against Shippensburg on Wednesday, Feb. 12, at 7 p.m.

 

#17 KUTZTOWN vs. #21 GANNON Saturday, February 1, 2020 | Kutztown, Pa. (Keystone Arena)
WT.		KUTZ	GAN
125	Jacob Dunlop (GAN) dec. Joe Renne (KUTZ), 9-3	0	3
133	Collin Wickramaratna (KUTZ) dec. Austin Hertel (GAN), 3-2 (TB-3 RT)	3	3
141	Nick Young (GAN) major dec. Michael Albergo (KUTZ), 11-3	3	7
149	#12 Dom Means (GAN) dec. Michael Cusick (KUTZ), 3-2	3	10
157	Evan Fisler (GAN) major dec. Mitchell Camp (KUTZ), 15-5	3	14
165	#8 Alex Farenchak (GAN) major dec. Connor Rogovich (KUTZ), 20-9	3	18
174	Luigi Yates (GAN) pinned Anthony Emig (KUTZ), 0:30	3	24
184	Joel Leise (GAN) pinned James Potts (KUTZ), 2:54	3	30
197	Jud Ramage (GAN) pinned Brody O'Connell (KUTZ), 5:39	3	36
285	#1 Andrew Dunn Jr. (KUTZ) pinned Gehrig Hutchison (GAN), 4:29	9	36