KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The 20th-ranked Kutztown University wrestling team flexed their muscles in front of their home crowd for the first time this season, gifting their fans a 50-0 victory over the American International Yellow Jackets inside Keystone Arena on Friday night.
The Golden Bears (7-1, 1-1 PSAC) racked up their points quickly thanks to four pins throughout the night and a forfeit at 285, each producing six team points on the way to a shutout of the Yellow Jackets (1-7 overall).
The excitement started with Penn State transfer Marco Vespa (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury) pinning his 125-pound opponent in 48 seconds in his first competition of the season. Javien DeLeon (Allentown, Pa./Liberty) grappled all three periods at 133 pounds, but turned his late takedown into a fall to make it 12-0 in favor of KU.
15th-ranked Jimmy Ryan (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) elected to take the technical fall route at 149 pounds, taking care of his Yellow Jacket counterpart with three four-point near falls in the opening period. The upset of the night came at 157 pounds, where redshirt sophomore Aliazer Alicea (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) took care of ninth-ranked Tommy Nichols with a 13-1 major decision, boosted by a pair of four-point near falls in the third period that got the crowd going.
12th-ranked Bailey Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) kept the momentum in Kutztown's favor with a pin at 165 pounds, while his 10th-ranked, 174-pound brother Dalton Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) followed up with an 8-1 decision that was decided in the final minute of the third period.
No. 2 Matthew Weinberg (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) scored a 19-2 technical fall for five team points in the third period, while 197-pound wrestler Wayne McIntyre (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg North) sent the final Yellow Jacket grappler to the mat in a first-minute pin. 285-pound wrestler and KU football defensive lineman Freddie Retter (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) got one of the biggest pops from the crowd when he ran out to the mat to collect his six team points following American International's forfeit at heavyweight.
The Golden Bears reached the 50 point threshold for the first time since January 13, 2023, in a 50-4 win over Marymount. The 50-point shutout and the 50-point margin of victory are the first of their kind on record, which dates back to the 2009-10 season.
The Maroon and Gold look to carry their momentum into a conference meeting with No. 14 Gannon at Keystone Arena on Saturday, Feb. 1 at noon.
NO. 20 KUTZTOWN VS AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL
FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2025
KUTZTOWN, PA. | KEYSTONE ARENA
125:
Marco Vespa (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury) (KU) won by fall over Jack Sullivan (AIC) [T - 0:48]
133:
Javien DeLeon (Allentown, Pa./Liberty) (KU) won by fall over Joseph Aldrich (AIC) [T - 5:46]
141:
Joey Ortega (Clark, N.J./Arthur L. Johnson) (KU) dec. over Aaron Morocho (AIC), 5-0
149: No. 15
Jimmy Ryan (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) (KU) tech. fall over Cqari Bacote (AIC), 15-0 [T - 2:28]
157:
Aliazer Alicea (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) (KU) major dec. over No. 9 Tommy Nichols (AIC), 13-1
165: No. 12
Bailey Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) (KU) won by fall over Teghan McConnell (AIC) [T - 3:20]
174: No. 10
Dalton Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) (KU) dec. over Markys Lissaint (AIC), 8-1
184: No. 2
Matthew Weinberg (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) (KU) tech. fall over Jack MacKiernan (AIC), 19-2 [T - 5:18]
197:
Wayne McIntyre (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg North) (KU) won by fall over Tommy Caracciolo (AIC) [T - 1:00]
285:
Freddie Retter (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) (KU) won by forfeit
Jared Fulton (Nottingham, Pa./Solanco) (KU) won by tech. fall over Luis Rosa (AIC) in a 149-pound exhibition (17-2, T - 5:10)
