WILKES-BARRE, PA (December 19, 2022) -- In their first dual matches of the 2022-23 season, the King's College wrestling team went a perfect 2-0 in their home tri-match in McGrane Gymnasium on Monday afternoon. The Monarchs defeated Penn College of Technology, 35-10, before handing University of Pittsburgh at Bradford a 38-4 loss in the night cap.

vs. Penn College of Technology - W, 35-10:
King's (2-0) jumped out to a quick lead in this match as Gus Petruske IV used an aggressive third period to defeat Ryan Berstler by decision, 14-2, in the 125 bout. At 133, Cole Anderson battled valiantly before falling to Patrick Snoke by sudden victory in the extra period. Another Wildcats win at 141 saw Nick Germano fall by major decision, 10-2, to Noah Hunt, but Shane Kibler matched that major decision victory at 149 as he defeated Liam Goodrich, 18-5.

The Wildcats would win one more bout at 157 as Nicholas Semon outlasted Colby Spencer by a decision of 5-0 to put Penn College ahead, 10-8. King's would then sweep the final five matches as Francis Theroux defeated Cullen vna Rooyen by a 9-5 decision at 165 before both Kade Kravtis and Bill Grace earned forfeit wins at 174 and 184, respectively. In the 197 match, Connor Wrobleski pinned Gabriel Kennedy-Citeroni in 1:04 to earn six team points for the Monarchs before Jacob Feese dominated the heavyweight matchup with Billy Bumbarger as he pinned the Wildcat in 5:37 to secure the 35-10 win for King's in the opener.

Exhibition matches with the Wildcats would see Bret Murphy and Alexander Ballantyne earn wins via decision, while Hugh Bittenbender and Patrick Horvath secured victories by major decisions.

vs. University of Pittsburgh at Bradford - W, 38-4:
The night cap of the tri-match in McGrane Gymnasium was dominated by the Monarchs. Gus Petruske IV would get King's started early as he defeated the Panthers' Ja'Shad Bumpers by a technical fall score of 18-2 in the 125 contest. Cole Anderson would win by forfeit in the 133 bout before Hugh Bittenbender picked up the win at 141 over Darren Christian Jr. via a 7-1 decision.

Shane Kibler came out strong in his second contest of the day as he dominated Raymond Worsen Jr. early, and after a calm second period, he stormed out to a 17-5 major decision victory at 149. Colby Spencer was strong throughout his bout at 157 as he earned a 17-0 technical fall win over Farhid Negahban, while Francis Theroux picked up another solid 6-2 decision win at 165 over Dennis Slovick.

Kade Kravits jumped out to a quick start and after a speedy takedown, Kravits dominated Kyle Keefe to a technical fall win, 19-0, in 56 seconds in the 174 contest. Connor Wrobleski had another strong outing as he used a 6-0 run in the opening period to earn a 10-5 decision over Colton Gietler at 184.

The final win on the day for the Monarchs came by major decision as Bill Grace outlasted Nathan Powley, 8-0, in the 197 bout, but the Panthers earned their lone win of the match in the heavyweight bout as Cameron Carter-Green defeated Nick Valenzano by a 13-5 major decision.

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King's will be back on the mats on Thursday morning as they travel across town to compete in the Wilkes Open. Action is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. in the Marts Center.