YORK, PA – The 14th-ranked York College wrestling squad
took two of their three matches Saturday afternoon at York's
Grumbacher Sport & Fitness Center. The Spartans, who move
to 10-4 on the season, opened the day with an impressive 51-0
performance over Scranton before dropping their second match 25-7
to Wilkes. York capped the quad-meet by handling the Apprentice
School 36-10.
In the Spartans' first match of the day, the hosts squared
off against the University of Scranton. York swept the match
earning six falls. Junior 125-pound All-American Kyle
Flickinger (New Oxford, Pa./Bermudian Springs) opened the
event with a 15-0 tech fall over Ray Claudio. Sean
Hightman (Dover, Pa./Northeastern) followed
Flickinger's exploits by pinning Scott Puglisi 2:10 into
their 133-pound match. Ryan Catton (Blairstown,
N.J./North Warren), the Spartans top 141-pounder, captured
a 6-4 victory against Richard Russell before Eric Rush
(Hershey, Pa./Milton Hershey) dropped Dan Hanifin for a
6:35 fall in the 149-pound division. John Niedrich
(Freehold, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) battled Steve
Glickman at 157-pounds en route to an 8-1 victory while senior
165-pounder Brian Alwine (Hanover,
Pa./Southwestern) won a 15-1 major decision over Steve
Gray. The Spartans final four matches against Scranton were
each won by fall. Jaime Arze (Annandale,
Va./Annandale) pinned Kevin DiGiulo 5:58 into their
174-pound match as Chris Elliot (Crofton, Md./South
River) made quick work of Adam Finch, ending their
184-pound match at 2:07. At 197, Thomas Fitzpatrick
(LaPlata, Md./LaPlata) put Joe Williams on his back at
3:48 while senior heavyweight Luke Panizzi (Eatontown,
N.J./Monmouth Regional) completed the sweep by pinning
Neil Slocum 4:44 into their match.
The Spartans would take a tough 25-7 defeat at the hands of
Wilkes, a team the green and white defeated just eight days ago at
the Budd Whitehill Duals. Five of the Spartans eight losses
were by three points or less, as York just seemed to be on the
short end of the stick. Flickinger's opening 5-4 loss
to Shaun Farnham began the pattern of close Spartan defeats.
Hightman then dropped a 3-2 decision before Catton and Rush lost
6-3 and 4-2 respectively. Down 12-0, Niedrich got the
Spartans on the board with a tough 2-0 win against Adam Penberthy
at 157-pounds. The hosts looked to turn things around pulling
to within nine at 12-3 but the Colonels jumped right
back out with Frank Heffernan's 4-2 win against Alwine at 165
pounds. Wilkes earned four points when Josh Ballan took at
10-2 major decision over Arze. Now up 19-3, the Colonels kept
pouring it on as Shawn Bradley and Zach Pizarro earned victories at
184 and 197 pounds. York's Panizzi made the score respectable
by earning a major decision over Jake Weinrich in the heavyweight
bout.
In the day's final match, York took out their frustrations
against Apprentice en route to a 36-10 victory. Flickinger
opened the match with a forfeit victory at 125-pounds. Hightman
then defeated Kevin Hill before Catton won his second match of the
day with a pin of Jeff Jiron. Rush would win his 149-pound
match 6-4 while Niedrich remained perfect on the day earning a fall
against Austen Damico. Down 24-0, the Builders would attempt
a slight comeback as Justin Gilliard earned three points for his
squad at 165-pounds. Apprentice's Eric Lybarger
captured a major decision at 174-pounds to pull to 24-7. Then
in the 184 bout, Charles Robinson took three more points from the
Spartans. Apprentice had pulled to within 14 at 24-10 but a
pair of Builder forfeits to 197-pound Hank Conklin
(Milford, Pa./Delaware Valley) and Panizzi ensured the
Spartan victory.
Niedrich's flawless performance ups his season mark to a
sparkling 20-2. Panizzi, who also finished perfect on the
day, now stands at 24-5 for his senior campaign while
Flickinger's pair of victories improves his record to
24-6. Catton and Rush each went 2-1 in the quad and now sport
17-8 and 15-10 marks respectively. Alwine's
victory places his senior record at 19-10.
The Spartans return to the mat next weekend when they travel to
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania for a quad-meet with Kings, Gettysburg,
and New York University. The Saturday action starts at 12:00
pm as York faces Kings in their first match before squaring-off
against Gettysburg and NYU later in the day.
Box Score -
York/Scranton
Box Score -
York/Wilkes
Box Score -
York/Apprentice
Chris Elliot photo courtesy of Eric Linsley
