KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- Mercyhurst jumped out to a 17-0 lead after the first five matches and held on for a 20-15 victory against No. 7 Kutztown on Friday night. The win was the fourth in a row for the Lakers, who improved to 10-1 overall and 3-0 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. The Golden Bears dropped to 7-4 overall and 2-1 in the conference standings.
It marked the second consecutive victory by the Lakers againt a ranked opponent. Mercyhurst doubled up No. 16 Lake Erie 24-12 last Saturday.
Mercyhurst utilized strong performances from redshirt junior Ryan Bohince and sophomore Kody Young at the outset to take an 8-0 advantage on the hosts after two bouts. Bohince won his fourth consecutive match to improve to 12-7 overall with a major decision victory against Kutztown's Nick Lamoreaux at 125 pounds. Young followed with a major decision victory at 133 against Brandon Davis for another four team points.
After the two major decision victories, sophomore Dylan D'Urso, redshirt sophomore Jeremy Landowski, and redshirt freshman Francis Mizia extended the Mercyhurst lead to 17-0 with back-to-back-to-back decisions.
The Golden Bears made things interesting down the stretch, but redshirt sophomores Angelo Bortoluzzi and Brian Beattie did enough in their matches at 184 and 197 respectively to keep Kutztown from getting more than three team points in each bout. Those proved to be very important as the top-ranked wrestler in the country, Ziad Haddad of Kutztown, earned a pin against Laker freshman Andrew Welton in the heavyweight bout for the final margin. Haddad has not lost this season (13-0).
No. 3 St. Cloud State 41, Northeastern State 3
ABERDEEN, S.D. -- St. Cloud State opened defense of its Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference championship with a big 41-3 victory at conference Northern State. The victory improves SCSU's season record to 12-1, 1-0 NSIC.
The Huskies opened the night in top fashion as Joel Solomon gained six points with a forfeit win at 125 lbs. At 133 lbs., Zach Stewart earned a 9-1 victory followed by a pin by Matt Nelson at 141 lbs. to give SCSU a 16-0 lead.
At 149 lbs., Jay Hildreth earned a 9-2 win and Clint Poster charted a technical fall at 157 lbs. for the Huskies. SCSU continued its run with victories at 165 lbs. by Gabe Fogarty, 174 lbs. by Clayton Jennissen and at 184 lbs. by Dylon Braun.
The Huskies completed the evening with a 13-1 victory by Luke Belich at 285 lbs. to make the final tally 41-3.
No. 5 Central Oklahoma 34, Truman State 3
EDMOND, Okla. -- Chris Watson and Cody Dauphin picked up bonus-point wins to lead Central Oklahoma to a 34-3 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association shellacking of Truman State on Friday night at Hamilton Field House.
The Bronchos won nine of the 10 matches in winning their 18th consecutive home match, improving to 8-4 on the season and 2-1 in the league. The Bulldogs dropped to 6-5 and 1-2.
Watson rolled to a 12-1 major decision at 165 lbs., while Dauphin ended the dual with a first-period fall at heavyweight. UCO also got wins from 125 Josh Breece, 141 Dustin Reed, 149 Jordan Basks, 157 Cory Dauphin, 174 Zach Aylor and 184 Znick Ferrell, while Casy Rowell picked up a forfeit at 133.
"I thought we looked really good at a few weights, particularly in the middle of the lineup," UCO head coach David James said. "It was a good win and now we have to get ready to take on a tough Lindenwood team."
