GREENVILLE, Pa. – Junior 141-pounder Caleb Willey (Towanda, Pa./Towanda Area), freshman 149-pounder Seth Lansberry (Klingerstown, Pa./Line Mountain) and freshman 157-pounder Nolan Barger (Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield Area) each picked up three wins to lead the Lycoming College wrestling team to a 2-1 effort at the Mel Berry Duals at Thiel College on Friday night, Jan. 24. The Warriors downed Baldwin-Wallace, 24-21, and Mercyhurst North East, 33-15, before falling to 24^th-ranked Thiel, 29-11, in the nightcap.
 
Willey improved to 25-10 on the season with the wins, while Lansberry's three wins moved him to 27-7. Barger also crossed 20 wins, becoming the fourth Warrior to do so this season, improving to 21-10 in his rookie campaign.
 
The Warriors (9-7 overall) began the day with a tough three-point win over Baldwin Wallace (5-2 overall), as the Warriors dealt with a lineup that featured four wrestlers in the d3wrestle.com rankings and followed the loss to Lycoming with a 22-14 win over Thiel.
 
The Warriors fell behind, 8-0, but came back thanks to the tough heart of the lineup, as Willey started the run with a pin of Joey Schmidt, ranked in the honorable mention portion of the d3wrestle.com ranking, in 1:57. Lansberry followed with a 7-3 win at 149 against Graham Montague and Barger also added a pin over Garrett Chase at 157 pounds to take a 15-8 lead.
 
After a pair of Yellow Jacket wins tied the meet, the Warriors clinched the win as senior 184-pounder Greg Wetzel (Pleasant Valley, N.Y./Arlington) posted a 2-0 win over Andrew Shackelford and freshman Skylar Ebner (Muncy, Pa./Muncy) followed with a pin of Tyler Keating in 2:37 at 197 to take an insurmountable 24-15 lead heading into the heavyweight bout.
 
The Warriors again used the heart of the lineup to run off seven straight wins en route to a 33-15 win over Mercyhurst North East, who is receiving votes in the latest NJCAA wrestling poll.
 
Down 9-0 to the Saints (2-4 overall) after the first two matches, a pair of forfeits and a pin by Lansberry against 149-pounder Jordan Palanca in 1:07 helped give Lycoming an 18-9 lead. Barger followed with a 6-4 win over Cole Shirey at 165 and sophomore Matt Neff (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) notched a 3-2 win over Alexander Svetz at 174. Wetzel also added a 4-1 decision over Jamar Henry at 184 and Ebner capped Lycoming's seven-match stretch with a pin of Kojo Boadu in 34 seconds at 197.
 
In the nightcap, the Warriors took a five-point lead after half the matches, but the nationally-ranked Thiel (10-6 overall)scored the last 23 points to take a 29-11 decision.
 
After a pair of close decisions gave Thiel a 6-0 lead, the Warriors took an 11-6 lead behind Willey, Lansberry and Barger. Willey notched a 1-0 decision over Nick Sutton at 141 before Lansberry beat Chris Nuss, 3-2. Barger capped the run with a 16-1 technical fall over Brandan Collins.
 
However, a narrow 2-1 decision at 165 helped Thiel get momentum back heading into a powerful part of its lineup, as the next three grapplers, who all appear in the d3wrestle.com rankings, picked up 14 points.
 
The Warriors will send five wrestlers to the Middle Atlantic Conference Championships on Saturday, Jan. 25, with matches starting at 10:30 a.m.
 
Lycoming (LYCO) 24.0 Baldwin Wallace (BW) 21.0
125 Jesse Gunter, BW, maj. dec. Jake Witmer, LYCO, 16-4
133 Andrew Taylor, BW, maj. dec. Zachary Finn, LYCO, 10-2
141 Caleb Willey, LYCO, pinned Joey Schmidt, BW, 1:57
149 Seth Lansberry, LYCO, dec. Graham Montague, BW, 7-3
157 Nolan Barger, LYCO, pinned Garrett Chase, BW, 2:24
165 David Shapiro, BW, maj. dec. Brian Watkins, LYCO, 14-3
174 Ben Lebrun, BW, dec. Matthew Neff, LYCO, 6-1
184 Greg Wetzel, LYCO, dec. Andrew Shackelford, BW, 2-0
197 Skylar Ebner, LYCO, pinned Tyler Keating, BW, 2:37
285 Joe Belford, BW, pinned Matthew Bloom, LYCO, 1:13
 
Lycoming (LYCO) 33.0 Mercyhurst North East (MNE) 15.0
125 Jamel Avery, MNE, dec. Jake Witmer, LYCO, 9-4
133 John Dillon, MNE, pinned Tanner Fasold, LYCO, 2:55
141 Caleb Willey, LYCO, forf.
149 Seth Lansberry, LYCO, pinned Jordan Palanca, MNE, 1:07
157 Brian Watkins, LYCO, forf.
165 Nolan Barger, LYCO, dec. Cole Shirey, MNE, 6-4
174 Matthew Neff, LYCO, dec. Alexander Svetz, MNE, 3-2
184 Greg Wetzel, LYCO, dec. Jamar Henry, MNE, 4-1
197 Skylar Ebner, LYCO, pinned Kojo Boadu, MNE, 0:34
285 Lorenzo Maddox, MNE, forf.
 
Thiel (THIE) 29.0 Lycoming (LYCO) 11.0
125 Vincent Vahaly, THIE, dec. Jake Witmer, LYCO, 4-2
133 Lance Waters, THIE, dec. Zachary Finn, LYCO, 10-8
141 Caleb Willey, LYCO, dec. Nick Sutton, THIE, 1-0
149 Seth Lansberry, LYCO, dec. Chris Nuss, THIE, 3-2
157 Nolan Barger, LYCO, tech. fall Brandan Collins, THIE, 6:52 16-1
165 Sean Byham, THIE, dec. Brian Watkins, LYCO, 2-1
174 Jordan Powell, THIE, pinned Frank Rodriguez, LYCO, 6:15
184 Jerrold Roosa, THIE, dec. Greg Wetzel, LYCO, 5-2
197 Jacob Lowry, THIE, tech. fall Skylar Ebner, LYCO, 3:48 16-1
285 Shawn Reynolds, THIE, forf.