HAMPTON, Va. – The 18th-ranked Kutztown University wrestling team claimed the Virginia Duals crown after defeating the Reinhardt Eagles and the Frostburg State Bobcats at the Hampton Coliseum on Saturday evening.
The Golden Bears (6-0, 1-0 PSAC) faced a pair of challenging teams on the winner's side of the bracket, first facing the Eagles, who are ranked 10th in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) wrestling rankings. Kutztown claimed seven of 10 bouts to secure a 29-12 victory and a spot in the Virginia Duals championship dual.
Their win over Reinhardt (Ga.) featured pins from 157-pound Aliazer Alicea (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) and 197-pound Wayne McIntyre (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg North) for six team points apiece, while No. 2 184-pound wrestler Matthew Weinberg (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) carried an 18-point advantage on the way to a 20-2 technical fall for the first of three straight Kutztown wins to close out the semifinal round.
Kutztown won four additional bouts by decision, the last of which was a 4-2 win at 285 pounds by KU football defensive lineman Freddie Retter (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown). 12th-ranked Bailey Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) slid by with a 6-5 decision at 165 pounds.
The final dual featured a rematch between the Golden Bears and the Bobcats (8-1, 2-0 Mountain East Conference), a pair of Division II programs that met in November, a 39-3 win for KU. The Maroon and Gold recorded a similarly dominant 34-16 performance over Frostburg State to win the championship.
Redshirt sophomore Nic Allison (Lewistown, Pa./Mifflin County) opened the final dual with a 17-2 technical fall, followed by a 7-2 decision from 133-pound Javien DeLeon (Allentown, Pa./Liberty) to secure an early 8-0 team advantage. 14th-ranked Jimmy Ryan (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) fought to a major decision at 149 pounds, while Aliazer Alicea (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) and Bailey Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) recorded back-to-back technical falls, for a 22-6 advantage.
Weinberg (184 pounds) and McIntyre (197 pounds) each secured pins nearly a minute into their first period, securing six points for the Golden Bears and concluding their scoring for the outing.
The Golden Bears travel to Pitt-Johnstown to take on the Mountain Cats in a battle of ranked Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference programs at the Sports Center on Friday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. Kutztown returns to Keystone Arena the following Friday, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m. to face American International.
