Kutztown University

Kutztown splits tri-match by beating Elizabethtown and falling to Delaware Valley

by Bill Rudick

DOYLESTOWN, PA (November 24, 2009) – Austin Williams (Pen Argyl/Pen Argyl) and John Paukovits (Northampton/Northampton) swept their matches at 133 and 141-pounds respectively as the Kutztown University wrestling team split a tri-meet against Delaware Valley and Elizabethtown, topping Elizabethtown 22-12 before suffering a 21-15 setback to an Aggies squad ranked seventh in the nation in the latest Division III rankings.

Williams used a third period takedown to edge E-Town's Martin Harnish 3-1, then piled up four takedowns en route to an 8-6 win over Del Val's Zac Haynes.

A takedown and three back points put Paukovits up 5-0 after one, then the Bear cruised to a 13-0 major decision over the Blue Jays Eric Rhoads. Paukovits added a 9-3 decision over Del Valley's Zac Andrews to close out his day.

Nine of the ten Kutztown starters earned team points on the day, picking up a victory in at least one of two bouts.

Kutztown started the day off on the right foot, taking four of the first five bouts of the day against Elizabethtwon. Following Williams and Paukovits wins, Derek Schmelyun dropped a tough overtime decision to Tye Boyer at 149. But the Bears got back on track with decisions from Ricardo Pena at 157 and Dave Zeek at 165. Also picking up wins for the Golden Bears were Scott Snyder, who notched a takedown in overtime to pull out a 3-1 win over Bill Meaney, and heavyweight Justin Grant, a 5-1 winner over Deron Sharp.

A highly anticipated match-up at 125 featured a pair of former Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association champions in Kutztown's Chris Sheetz and Elizabethtown's Tyler Erdman, currently ranked as the No. 3 125-pounder in D-III. Sheetz managed to hit Erdman twice with his patented headlock for two-and-two, but the Jays' standout clawed his way back for a narrow 11-9 win to put the final team score at 22-12.

Eric Sergent snapped a four match Aggies win streak with a victory at 184, scoring a second period takedown and adding a third period reversal and riding time to earn a 5-1 decision over Del Val's Matt O'Connell.

After Del Val sealed the team win with victories at 197 and 285, the Aggies opted not to send out a wrestler to face Sheetz at 125, and the Golden Bear had his hand raised for a forfeit and six team points.

Kutztown returns to action on Saturday, December 5 when it competes in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships.

--KU--

Kutztown results

KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY 22, ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE 12

133: Austin Williams (K) by decision over Marty Harnish (E), 3-1 3-0 KU

141: John Paukovits (K) by major decision over Eric Rhoads (E), 14-0 7-0 KU

149: Tye Boyer (E) by decision over Derek Scmelyun (K), 4-2 TB 7-3 KU

157:Ricardo Pena (K) by decision over Max Barsky (E), 8-2 10-3 KU

165:David Zeek (K) pinned Kyle Deeds (E), 4:52 16-3 KU

174: Julian Meaney (E) by decision over Alex Depew (K), 10-4 16-6 KU

184:Jim Gentile (E) by decision over Eric Sergent (K), 5-2 16-9 KU

197: Scott Snyder (K) by decision over Bill Meaney (E), 3-1 OT 19-9 KU

285: Justin Grant (K) by decision over Deron Sharp (E), 5-2 22-9 KU

125: Tyler Erdman (E) by decision over Chris Sheetz (K), 11-9 OT 22-12 KU