WILKES-BARRE, PA (November 9, 2019) -- The 2019-20 schedule for the King's College wrestling team got underway Saturday morning, as the Monarchs hosted the Ned McGinley Invitational in McGrane Gymnasium and the Scandlon Athletics and Recreation Center. 

The Monarchs had some strong finishes on Saturday, including at 125 as freshman Gus Petruske IV made it all the way to the finals. Seeded No. 7 coming into the day, Petruske started the day with a 15-2 major decision win over Brandon Murray of York College (PA). In the match, Petruske posted four takedowns while also earning a four-point nearfall. 

In the quarterfinals, Petruske would battle the No. 2 seed in Nick Schutzenhofer of Roger Williams, but with the score tied 5-5 in the third period Petruske earned a takedown and turned it into a fall for the victory.

In the semifinals, Petruske earned another fall over Nick Bauer at 2:00 of the first period to advance to the finals against top-seed Joey Manginelli of Springfield College. Petruske would see his run through the tournament end in the finals, as Manginelli earned a 17-5 win to take the 125 bracket. 

At 133, senior Dakota Quick had a strong day, as he took fourth place in the weight class. Quick started the day with a 14-2 major decision over Ryan Bauer of Penn College, but would fall to Jacques St. Jean 19-4. Quick rebounded with a pin in his next bout over Jack Bauer of Wilkes at 1:41, and then followed with a 19-1 technical fall win over Amos Rivera of Cortland. 

In the consolation finals, Quick fell by major decision to St. Jean again by a score of 15-4. King's had three wrestlers going at 141, as Christopher Ciarcia went 1-2 but earned his first win as a Monarch with a pin against Ryan Mayo of Cortland 1:29 into the bout. 

Freshman Robert Zelinski started the morning with a 19-2 technical fall win over Nicolai Celestain of Oswego State, but would fall to Nick Wagner of Roger Williams and Mathew Castiomore of Muhlenberg College. 

Freshman Colby Spencer went 1-2 as well at 149, as he earned his first collegiate bout win with a 13-5 major decision over Kyle Tino of Wilkes. He was in his last match against Ben Bivar of Cortland, but would drop an 8-4 decision. 

Sophomore Kade Kravits had a solid day at 165, going 3-2 on the day. After dropping his first bout in a highly contested match to Brian Jamison of Muhlenberg 6-3, Kravits rebounded with a 7-0 decision win over Hunter Goodrow of RWU.

Kravits kept it going with a 9-2 win over John Nieroda, and followed that with an exciting 3-2 decision win. In the match, Kravits earned a takedown early in the first period. Jason DeBoard would tie the match at two, but the riding time point went to Kravits to earn the victory. 

Sophomore Isaac Mensah was 1-2 on the day in 184 with a pin against Brady Mitchell of Wilkes, needing just 1:59 of time to earn the fall. Freshman David White started his career with a tough loss at 197, as Matt Burge of Oneonta just edged White 5-2.

King's finished 11th as a team, earning 45 points on the afternoon. 

The Monarchs will now head to Bristol, RI next weekend to compete in the Roger Williams Invitational.