Warriors Reach Championship at John Reese Duals
Wilkes Defeats Lycoming in Finals

WILKES BARRE, Pa.—Lycoming’s wrestlers defeated both Waynesburg and Oneonta State handily on Thursday at the John Reese Duals. But the host team Wilkes edged the Warriors 19-18 in the tournament’s championship match.

In the quarterfinals, Lycoming won all but two contests against Waynesburg, earning a 45-9 team victory. Pins by Sean Cullen (Cinnaminson, NJ) at 133 pounds and Bryan Kopesky (Phillipsburg, NJ) at 184 helped top a thin Waynesburg team that forfeited five weight classes.

In their semifinal face-off, the Warriors opened quickly with a pin by 125-pounder Joe Palmitessa (Scranton, PA). Claiming seven of the next eight decisions, including a pin by Matt Miller (Muncy, PA), Lycoming was on its way to a 30-7 victory over the tourney’s eventual third-place team. Troy Hansen (Westtown, NY) stepped up to wrestle at heavyweight, but fell to Trevor Hiffa in the match’s final bout.

Wilkes was Lycoming’s final challenge for the John Reese Duals title. Lightweight Colonel Shaun Farnham began the card with a technical fall over Palmitessa, but Cullen replied with a major decision over Josh Pauling. Kyle Hopkins (Milton, DE) and freshman Zach Frederick (West Chester, PA) made it three major decisions in a row as the Warriors went up 12-5. However, Wilkes returned the favor with three straight wins of its own, taking the lead 15-12. At 184, Kopesky gained a 9-3 decision over Colin Nagy to even the bout at 15. Miller then defeated Brandon Kelly to give the Warriors a 18-15 lead, but Wilkes’ Andrew Feldman earned a major decision over a smaller Hansen for a 19-18 Colonels win.

Lycoming travels to the PA/NY Duals in Oswego, NY on Saturday, followed by a match at Gettysburg on Monday. All of this action precedes the annual Budd Whitehill Duals, which will be held at Lamade Gymnasium on January 12-13.

The Whitehills feature nine of the nation’s top 30 division III wrestling teams, as ranked in the latest Brute/Adidas NWCA poll. The prestigious guest list includes SUNY-Cortland (#7), The College of New Jersey (#8) and defending Budd Whitehill team champion Loras College (#17). Lycoming was recently ranked #28 and plans to make a favorable impression on pollsters at the event.

 

Championship details:

Wilkes 19 Lycoming 18

125: Shaun Farnham (W) tech fall Joe Palmitessa, 20-4/5:00 (5-0)
133: Sean Cullen (L) maj dec Josh Pauling, 10-2 (5-4)
141: Kyle Hopkins (L) maj dec Peter George, 14-2 (5-8)
149: Zach Frederick (L) maj dec Erik Smith, 11-2 (5-12)
157: Frank Heffernan (W) dec Chris Dahlheimer, 5-2 (8-12)
165 Justin Barowski (W) maj dec Eddie Brown, 8-0 (12-12)
174: Josh Ballan (W) dec Clinton Gardener, 8-4 (15-12)
184: Bryan Kopesky (L) dec Colin Nagy, 9-3 (15-15)
197: Matt Miller (L) dec Brandon Kelly, 5-3 (15-18)
285: Andrew Feldman (W) maj dec Troy Hansen, 10-2 (19-18)

 

Semi-Final details

Lycoming 30 Oneonta St. 7

125: Joe Palmitessa (L) pinned Scott Gorman, 1:37 (6-0)
133: Sean Cullen (L) dec. Walter Moore, 8-1 (9-0)
141: Kyle Hopkins (L) dec. John Leech, 6-1 (12-0)
149: Drew Barder (L) dec. Devan Witman, 5-3 (15-0)
157: Chris Dahlheimer (L) dec. Geoff Rosa, 9-6 (18-0)
165: Eric Miller (L) dec. Dave Ballard, 2-1 (21-0)
174: Josh Wake (OS) dec. Justin Waycaster, 6-3 (21-3)
184: Bryan Kopesky (L) dec. Mike Hamilton, 7-6 (24-3)
197: Matt Miller (L) pinned Dennis Norton, 1:40 (30-3)
285: Trevor Hiffa (OS) maj. dec. Troy Hansen, 16-3 (30-7)

 

Quarterfinal details

Lycoming 45 Waynesburg 9

125: Joe Palmitessa (L) by forfeit (6-0)
133: Sean Cullen (L) pinned Abdul Yusuff, 4:45 (12-0)
141: Kyle Hopkins (L) by forfeit (18-0)
149: Drew Barder (L) by forfeit (24-0)
157: Chris Dahlheimer (L) by forfeit (30-0)
165: Jacob Benczo (W) dec. Eddie Brown, 6-2 (30-3)
174: Clint Gardener (L) by forfeit (36-3)
184: Bryan Kopesky (L) pinned Justin Keally, 4:05 (42-3)
197: Matt Miller (L) dec. Brandon Miller, 8-4 (45-3)
285: Melvin Warrick (W) pinned George Rupp, 1:09 (45-9)