2013 Budd Whitehill National Duals Brackets
2013 Budd Whitehill National Duals Central

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point highlights a group of six ranked teams that will head to Lamade Gymnasium on Friday, Jan. 11, for the start of the two-day, 20-team 25^th annual Budd Whitehill National Duals hosted by Lycoming College, as the field is again a very strong and deep one according to the bracket released by the rankings committee on Tuesday morning, Jan. 8.
 
UW-Stevens Point, ranked 12^th in the nation, earned the top seed and will face Waynesburg in the opening round at 9 a.m. on Friday, while No. 2 seed Wabash, ranked 14^th, will face Gettysburg. No. 3 seed Ohio Northern, ranked 19^th and the top returning placewinner – finishing third in 2012, will face Lycoming and No. 4 seed York (Pa.), ranked 21^st, will take on Thiel in the other 9 a.m. matches.
 
At 10:30 a.m., No. 5 TCNJ, ranked 23^rd, will face Trine, No. 6 Messiah, ranked 24^th, will take on Coast Guard, No. 7 Heidelberg will face SUNY Oswego and No. 8 John Carroll will face Williams.
 
At 12 p.m. RIT, Case Western, the College of Rhode Island and Muskingum will begin their quest at the tournament, facing the winners of the 9 a.m. round of matches.
 
The Warriors (3-2 overall), who have wrestled at two open tournaments that featured many Division I wrestlers and an invitiational with Division II grapplers, are looking to see the fruits of a difficult early schedule, which began to pay off with a sweep of SUNY Oswego (22-17) and RIT (21-12) at the Pa./N.Y. Duals on Jan. 5.
 
Lycoming has been led early in the season by junior 165-pounder Greg Wetzel (Arlington, N.Y./Pleasant Valley), who has posted an 11-7 mark and a 4-1 record in dual meets. The middle of the Warriors’ lineup is its strength, as sophomore Brian Watkins (Bear Gap, Pa./Southern Columbia) is 8-6 at 157, sophomore Caleb Willey (Towanda, Pa./Towanda Area) is 10-10 mark at 141 and freshman Matt Neff (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) has also been tough, notching a 9-9 record at 149. Junior 174-pounder Johnathan Secor (Pompton Lakes, N.J./Pompton Lakes) is 7-8 and senior 184-pounder Tyler Cunningham (Haddon Township, N.J./Haddon Township) is 7-7, including two pins at the Pa./N.Y. Duals.
 
The Warriors are looking to place at the event for the 18^th time in its 25 years and for the first time since taking eighth in 2010. In 2012, the team finished the tournament with a 2-3 mark, posting wins over Case Western Reserve and King’s.
 
Lycoming’s first opponent, 19^th-ranked Ohio Northern, has placed at the duals seven times, including a second-place finish in 2011 and third-place finish in 2012. The team is led by a pair of nationally-ranked grapplers, including No. 1-ranked Kyle Kwiat at 174 pounds and ninth-ranked Michael Pawlitz at 197 pounds.
 
In the second round, if the Warriors win, they will face the College of Rhode Island at 12 p.m. If they lose, they will face the loser of the dual between sixth-seed Messiah and Coast Guard at 2 p.m.
The Warriors are 64-36 (.640) all-time at the duals and have won titles in 1997 and 1999. Lycoming is 17-5 (.773) in the opening round of the event.
 
Seven rounds of the duals will take place on Friday, Jan. 11, with four matches taking place in each round on mats spread across Lamade Gymnasium. On Saturday, Jan. 12, the tournament will conclude with five rounds of wrestling. The championship round is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday with the tournament awards following at 5 p.m.