ADA, Ohio – The No. 25 ranked Lycoming College wrestling team enjoyed a successful day on the mats at its first individual tournament of the season on Saturday, Dec. 13, at the Ohio Northern Wrestling Invitational.
Michael Maurer (149) and Chris Dahlheimer (165) led the Warriors with second-place finishes in their respective weight classes. Zach Frederick (149) also claimed a podium position, finishing third in his weight class.
At 125, Jimmy Couturiaux (Mill Hall, Pa.), Mike Blumenthal (Willow Grove, Pa.) and Stephen Hinton (Montclair, Va.) were all defeated in the first round, but picked up wins in their first wrestle-backs.
Couturiaux won a 5-0 decision against Josh Klimo of Waynesburg. Blumenthal earned a technical fall (17-0) over Shawn Feistamel of Muskingum and Hinton earned a major victory (12-2) over Josh Allen of Indianapolis (NCAA Division II). All three Lycoming wrestlers were defeated in their second wrestle-back.
At 133, Eric Grecco (Brockway, Pa.) lost a 9-3 decision in the quarterfinals, but wrestled back to place seventh. He defeated Tim Brown of Wilmington 11-9 and earned a major decision (10-0) over Jacob Weisman of No.24 Heidelberg in the seventh-place match.
Cody Billotte (Frenchville, Pa.) and Andrew Lewis (Wyalusing, Pa.) each advanced to the second round. Billotte had a bye in the first round and Lewis defeated Michael Halko of Muskingum, 9-2. Both were defeated in the second round and in the wrestle-back.
At 141, Thomas Barger (Clearfield, Pa.) advanced to the quarterfinals. He defeated Tony Conway of Wabash by a major decision (11-1) in the first round and earned another major decision in the second round, defeating Tommy Patterson of Muskingum, 17-6. Barger suffered a 15-5 loss in the semifinals against Vince Tucker of No. 23 Olivet, the 10th ranked wrestler in the nation at 141.
149 proved to be one of the most successful weight classes for the Warriors, with two wrestlers placing in the top-three
Michael Maurer (Towanda, Pa.) advanced to the championship match. He earned a major decision (12-2) against Odis Wesby of Campellsville in the first round, pinned (6:18) Jeremiah Edwards of Rose-Hulman in the second round, defeated (10-5) Nick Leon of Olivet in the quarterfinals and earned a technical fall (19-0 in 5:36) over Mick Letcher of Ohio Northern in the semi-finals. Maurer was beaten (6-0) in the finals against Jeff Steele of Cumberlands.
Zach Frederick (West Chester, Pa.) placed third at 141. He earned a technical fall (16-0 in 3:17) over Riley Pike of Limestone (ranked No. 16 in Division II) in the first round, a 7-0 decision over Jarred Tribbett of Wabash and a 9-3 decision against David Lopez of Indianapolis. Frederick was beaten by eventual champion Jeff Steele in the semi-finals. He then defeated Leon with a 1-0 decision in his first wrestle-back and claimed the third-place match with a pin (6:45) against Letcher.
No Lycoming wrestlers picked up wins at 157.
At 165, Chris Dahlheimer (Felton, Pa.) suffered his first loss of the season in the championship match. Dahlheimer entered the tournament as the fifth-ranked 165-pounder in the nation. He pinned Garrett Harrison of Cumberlands in 59 seconds in the first round, earned a technical fall (15-0 in 4:45) over Jeremiah Howe of Heidelberg in the second round, pinned (4:04) Tim Pope of Mount Saint Joseph in the quarterfinals and defeated (5-4) Jarrod Shaw of West Liberty State (ranked No.14 in Division II) in the semi-finals. He suffered his first loss of the season, 2-1, against James Linker of Campbellsville in the final.
At 174, Troy Hayre (Falls Church, Va.) pinned (1:13) James Fitzpatrick of Wabash in the first round before suffering a loss in the second round. Eli Snyder (Shade Gap, Pa.) was beaten in the first round, but earned a 6-5 decision over Jake Benczo of Waynesburg in his first wrestle-back.
At 184, both Kyle Crouthamel (Hamilton, N.J.) and Russell Korbul (Asbury, N.J.) dropped their opening matches, but enjoyed success in the wrestle-back rounds.
Crouthamel earned a technical fall (16-1 in 3:45) over Jesse Hooven of Mount Saint Joseph, and a 5-3 decision over Danny Dunn of Muskingum. He was beaten, 3-2, by eventual sixth-place finisher Matt Alexander of Ohio Northern.
Korbul earned a 6-3 decision over Joe McAllister of Olivet and pinned (5:50) Justin Hughes of West Liberty State, before dropping his next match to eventual eighth-place finisher, Ben Ball of Findlay (ranked No.13 in Division II).
At 197, Bryan Kopesky (Phillipsburg, N.J.) advanced to the quarterfinals. He pinned Jon Waggy of Wilmington in 2:25 in his second round match after getting a bye in the first round. He was defeated by eventual champion Mitch Knapp of West Liberty State, 5-3, in the quarterfinals.
At 285, Ben Zimmerman pinned Matt Kulibda of No.28 Trine in 1:54 in his first match before dropping his second round match against Adam Salyers of Wilmington.
Chris Buttersworth (Shillington, Pa.) dropped his first match, but earned a 3-2 win against Tim Phelps of Manchester in his first wrestle-back. Rick Ausem (Towanda, Pa.) was beaten in his first match, but earned a 2-1 victory against Derrick Minick of Rose-Hulman in his first wrestle-back.
The Warriors will break for the holidays and return to action at the Rochester Institute of Technology on Jan. 3, at the PA-NY Duals. Lycoming will wrestle in Lamade Gymnasium for the first time this season on Jan. 9-10, at the Budd Whitehill National Duals.
