23RD RANKED WILKES DOWNS 30TH RANKED KING'S 26-18



(Wilkes-Barre, PA) – Wilkes University, ranked 23rd nationally, won seven of ten bouts en route to a 26-18 win over local rival and 30th-ranked King's College on Friday night in the Marts Center.


The Colonels conclude their dual match season with a record of 19-7-1, while King's also ended their dual match season and sports an 8-11 mark. Both teams will be idle until next Sunday, February 24, when they compete in the Metropolitan Wrestling Conference Championships that are being hosted by Wilkes.


The match started at 184 pounds and King's Zach Martinez (14-11) got off to a fast start against Devin Sassone-McHugh (9-9). He scored a pair of takedowns and five back points in the opening period on his way to a 9-1 lead. Martinez would continue to add to his lead before pinning Sassone-McHugh with just 1.2 seconds left in the second period to give King's a 6-0 lead.


Wilkes' Zach Pizarro (25-8) was impressive in his match at 197 pounds. Pizarro scored a takedown and two near-fall points in the first period to go on top of Zach Wilkinson (4-3), 4-0. Pizarro would add another takedown and three near-fall points in the second period to forge in front 9-0. After escaping to start the third period for a 10-0 lead, Pizarro snagged a riding point for an 11-0 major decision that pulled the Colonels within 6-4.


At 285 pounds Wilkes' Drew Feldman (15-9) scored the only points of the first period with a takedown to go in front 2-0 over Justin Bender (8-4). Bender would begin period two on bottom and escaped to trim the lead to 2-1. The score would stay that way until the opening seconds of the third when Feldman escaped after taking the down position for a 3-1 lead. That's the way it would end and Wilkes had a 7-6 lead.


Shaun Farnham (31-15) got out of the gate quickly at 125 pounds with a takedown and two near-fall points in the first period of his match against Rich Dorsey (10-11) for a 4-0 lead. Dorsey would get two points of his own with a takedown in the second period to cut the gap to 4-2. Farnham would then escape and earn another takedown for a 7-2 lead. Two more near-fall points gave the Wilkes grappler a 9-2 lead heading into the third period. Farnham chose the top position to start the third period and not only road Dorsey the entire period, but also scored three more near-fall points for a 13-2 major decision that upped the Colonels lead to 11-6.


Defending NCAA Division III champion Dave Morgan (22-1) of King's held a 2-1 lead over Josh Pauling (22-10) after one period. Morgan got a takedown with 12 seconds left in the opening period and Pauling immediately escaped. Morgan would up his advantage to 3-1 with an escape to begin the second period. Pauling selected the bottom position to start the third period and also gained an escape to pull within 3-2. However, Morgan would catch Pauling with less than a minute remaining and scored a fall at 6:35 to give King's a 12-11 lead.


At 141 pounds Wilkes' Brandon Prentice (19-17) scored the only point of the first period when his opponent, Anthony Miele (15-16), was called for a technical violation. Prentice took the down position in the second period and scored a reversal for a 3-0 lead. Miele would then escape to trim the gap to 3-1, but Prentice got another takedown before the end of the period for a 5-1 lead. Miele got an escape with just over a minute left in the final period after opting for the bottom position to make it 5-2. Another takedown by Prentice with 20 seconds left gave him a 7-2 victory and put Wilkes ahead once again, 14-12.


Wilkes' Erik Smith (27-10) and King's Frankie Davis (13-20) were scoreless through the first period of their match at 149 pounds. Smith gained the first advantage with a takedown with just over a minute to go in the second period for a 2-0 lead. Smith increased his lead to 3-0 with an escape point just four seconds into the third period, and neither wrestler was able to score again as Wilkes assumed a 17-12 lead.


At 157 pounds the Colonels' Adam Penberthy (24-16) and the Monarchs' Taylor Green (9-7) wrestled to a 0-0 standoff after one period. Penberthy took the down position to begin the second stanza and needed only four seconds to escape and take a 1-0 lead. Penberthy followed that up with a takedown to increase his lead to 3-0 heading into the final period. Green chose to start the third period in the neutral position, but was unable to get on the scoreboard. Penberthy added a riding time point for a 4-0 win that increased the Wilkes lead to 20-12.


With a chance to ice the team verdict Wilkes sent Frank Heffernan to the mat at 165 pounds to take on Ryan Trees. Heffernan had two takedowns and four near-fall points in the first period alone as he opened up an 8-1 lead heading into the second stanza. Heffernan took the top position to start the second period and picked up two more near-fall points in the first 20 seconds for a 10-1 edge. Heffernan would secure three more near-fall points with 55 seconds to go in the period for a 13-1 lead. He rolled Heffernan to his back one more time, this time scoring the fall at 4:45 to give Wilkes an insurmountable 26-12 lead.


In the final match of the night King's Mike Reilly (17-2) jumped out to a 12-0 lead over Travis Davis (2-10) after one period thanks to a takedown and four sets of near-fall points. Reilly took the bottom position in period two and gained a reversal before putting Davis on his back and scoring the pin with one second left to make the final score 26-18.






Wilkes 26 - King's 18

184 – Zach Martinez (K) pinned Devin Sassone-McHugh, 4:59 (0-6)
197 – Zach Pizarro (W) maj. dec. Zach Wilkinson, 11-0 (4-6)
285 – Andrew Feldman (W) dec. Justin Bender, 3-1 (7-6)
125 – Shaun Farnham (W) maj. dec. Richard Dorsey, 13-2 (11-6)
133 – Dave Morgan (K) pinned Josh Pauling, 6:35 (11-12)
141 – Brandon Prentice (W) dec. Anthony Miele, 7-2 (14-12)
149 – Erik Smith (W) dec. Frankie Davis, 3-0 (17-12)
157 – Adam Penberthy (W) dec. Taylor Green, 4-0 (20-12)
165 – Frank Heffernan (W) pinned Ryan Trees, 4:45 (26-12)
174 - Mike Reilly (K) pinned Travis Davis, 4:59 (26-18)