WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The rest of the Lamade Gym was nearly empty by 6:30 on Friday night, Jan. 9, but a large group of wrestlers were crowded around the table alongside the first mat. After 10 bouts, the match was an even tie and the seeding for the second day of the 27^th annual Budd Whitehill National Duals hung in the balance. In the end, the meet was decided on the final criteria in the rule book, the first takedown and thus, the dual-meet winning move came from Lycoming College's first wrestler, with freshman Kyle Drick (Allenwood, Pa./Montgomery) providing the two points that clinched an 18-17 win over Coast Guard and lift the Warriors into the semifinals of the duals.
 
The Warriors (10-2 overall) finished the day with the win over 28^th-ranked Coast Guard to win Group C, as the team also notched a 19-13 win over Wis.-Stevens Point and a 39-5 win over Case Western Reserve to win the pool and reach the semifinals of the Whitehill Duals for the first time since 2008. Lycoming will face Williams in the semifinal match at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 10, while seventh-ranked Messiah and Thiel will face off in the other semifinal. The winners will face off in the championship match at 1:30 p.m. and the losers will grapple in the third-place match at the same time.
 
Drick got the Warriors on the board against Coast Guard (3-3 overall) with an impressive 11-1 major decision win over Dominick Summers at 125 pounds, scoring five takedowns in the match. After a Coast Guard technical fall at 133 pounds, senior Caleb Willey (Towanda, Pa./Towanda Area) posted a 7-3 win over Matthew McAllister at 141 and sophomore Seth Lansberry (Klingerstown, Pa./Line Mountain) added an 11-1 major decision against Michael Giorgio at 149 pounds to give Lycoming a 11-5 lead.
 
Coast Guard picked up a win at 157 pounds to close within three points, but sophomore Nolan Barger (Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield Area) earned third-period back points to clinch a 5-2 win over Michael Palomba at 165 to give Lycoming a 14-8 lead. The Bears tied the match with decisions at the next two weight classes before senior Johnathan Secor (Pompton Lakes, N.J./Pompton Lakes) outlasted Phil Azzari, 2-1, earning a riding-time point to clinch the match. A Bears decision at heavyweight, though, sent the match to criteria, where Lycoming ultimately prevailed thanks to Drick's first takedown.
 
The Warriors began the day with a solid 19-13 win over Wis.-Stevens point, taking six decisions and posting 10 points from 149-165 pounds to distance themselves from the Pointers (2-7 overall).
 
Lycoming got on the board in the 133-pound match, with senior Cody Barbiche (Milford, N.J./Delaware Valley Regional) earning a 3-1 decision over Michael Bannach. After the Pointers took a 7-3 lead with a major decision at 141 pounds, Lansberry responded with a 9-0 major over John Roycraft at 149 pounds to tie the score. Junior Matt Neff (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) added a come-from-behind 6-4 win over Joe Crook at 157 and Barger added an 8-5 win over Logan Hermsen at 165 to give Lycoming a 13-7 lead.
 
The Pointers closed within three points at 174, but wins in the next two weight classes sealed the win for the Warriors. Senior Nikolas Christine (Lewistown, Pa./Indian Valley) came close to a pin twice before finishing off a 13-6 win over Taylor Beaman at 184 and Secor added a solid 6-0 win over Jordan Koranda at 197.
 
In the second bout, the Warriors won eight matches and scored bonus points in five bouts to rout Case Western Reserve (4-2 overall), 39-5. Lycoming took advantage of four pins in the match, with Barbiche posting a come-from-behind win to pin Josh Hall in 6:40 at 133 to kick things off. Barger added a pin in 47 seconds against Nick Tommas at 165 and Christine notched one in 4:07 against Ahmad Khatib at 184 before Secor posted a 53-second pin against Cito Balsells at 197.
 
Drick (125), Willey (141) and senior Sam Batchelor (Birdsboro, Pa./Daniel Boone) (285) added decisions and Lansberry was awarded a forfeit at 149 to round out Lycoming's scoring.
 
Match-by-Match Results
Match #1 Round 1: Lycoming defeated Wisconsin-Stevens Point 19-13
125 - Ben Vosters (Wisconsin-Stevens Point) over Kyle Drick (Lycoming) Dec 10-9
133 - Cody Barbiche (Lycoming) over Michael Bannach (Wisconsin-Stevens Point) Dec 3-1
141 - Jared Kust (Wisconsin-Stevens Point) over Caleb Willey (Lycoming) Maj 10-2
149 - Seth Lansberry (Lycoming) over John Roycraft (Wisconsin-Stevens Point) Maj 9-0
157 - Matthew Neff (Lycoming) over Joe Crook (Wisconsin-Stevens Point) Dec 6-4
165 - Nolan Barger (Lycoming) over Logan Hermsen (Wisconsin-Stevens Point) Dec 8-5
174 - Dan Squires (Wisconsin-Stevens Point) over Brandon Conrad (Lycoming) Dec 7-4
184 - Nikolas Christine (Lycoming) over Taylor Beaman (Wisconsin-Stevens Point) Dec 13-6
197 - Johnathan Secor (Lycoming) over Jordan Koranda (Wisconsin-Stevens Point) Dec 6-0
285 - Bo Seibel (Wisconsin-Stevens Point) over Samuel Batchelor (Lycoming) Dec 3-2
 
Match #2 Round 2: Lycoming defeated Case Western Reserve 39-5
125 - Kyle Drick (Lycoming) over Matt Moy (Case Western Reserve) Dec 7-1
133 - Cody Barbiche (Lycoming) over Josh Hall (Case Western Reserve) Fall 6:40
141 - Caleb Willey (Lycoming) over Travis Alexander (Case Western Reserve) Dec 7-0
149 - Seth Lansberry (Lycoming) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
157 - Connor Gordon (Case Western Reserve) over Ross Orler (Lycoming) Dec 9-7
165 - Nolan Barger (Lycoming) over Nick Tommas (Case Western Reserve) Fall 0:47
174 - Nick Lees (Case Western Reserve) over Brandon Conrad (Lycoming) Dec 7-6
184 - Nikolas Christine (Lycoming) over Ahmad Khatib (Case Western Reserve) Fall 4:07
197 - Johnathan Secor (Lycoming) over Cito Balsells (Case Western Reserve) Fall 0:53
285 - Samuel Batchelor (Lycoming) over Nate Lewis (Case Western Reserve) Dec 2-0
Case Western Reserve's team score was adjusted by -1.000 for unsportsman-like conduct
 
Match #3 Round 3: Lycoming defeated Coast Guard 18-17
125 - Kyle Drick (Lycoming) over Dominick Summers (Coast Guard) Maj 11-1
133 - Nathaniel Giorgio (Coast Guard) over Cody Barbiche (Lycoming) TF 16-0
141 - Caleb Willey (Lycoming) over Matthew McAllister (Coast Guard) Dec 7-3
149 - Seth Lansberry (Lycoming) over Michael Giorgio (Coast Guard) Maj 11-1
157 - Christopher Sullivan (Coast Guard) over Matthew Neff (Lycoming) Dec 7-2
165 - Nolan Barger (Lycoming) over Michael Palomba (Coast Guard) Dec 5-2
174 - Mike Shermot (Coast Guard) over Brandon Conrad (Lycoming) Dec 6-4
184 - Marc Wagner (Coast Guard) over Nikolas Christine (Lycoming) Dec 9-5
197 - Johnathan Secor (Lycoming) over Phil Azzari (Coast Guard) Dec 2-1
285 - Mark Howard (Coast Guard) over Samuel Batchelor (Lycoming) Dec 3-2
Lycoming's team score was adjusted by 1.000 for Rule 3.15 Tiebreaker Criteria #4 - First taked