Wrestlers finish 6th at 20-team Bud Whitehill Duals at Lycoming

By Steve Green

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — The Ohio Northern wrestling team picked up where they left off at the Bud Whitehill Duals winning two matches on their way to claiming sixth place at the 20 team tournament.

The Polar Bears (9-9 overall) went 2-1 on the second day of the 2-day tournament, defeating No. 28 Springfield (Mass.) 29-14 and No. 29 Olivet (Mich.) 18-16 before falling to King's (Pa.) 20-19 in the sixth place match.

No. 4-ranked freshman Kyle Kwiat paced the Polar Bears by going a perfect 6-0 on the tournament with three pins and a major decision. Kwiat improves to 24-3 on the season.

No. 2-ranked All-American junior Luke Miller posted a 5-1 record on the weekend, posting two pins and two tech falls, and improves to 25-2 on the year.

Sophomore Mick Letcher and junior Justin Southwick were 4-2 at 149 and 285-pound weight classes, respectively.

Letcher collected three pins and a major decision and now stands at 14-4 on the year and Southwick collected a pair of pins and is now 12-10 on the season.

The first match of the day had the Polar Bears defeating No. 28 rSpringfield (Mass.) in the consolation quarterfinals.

Freshman Jeremy Jones gained Northern's first win when he was able to edge out Eddie Giron in a close 7-6 decision at 133 pounds.

Letcher earned a major decision over Ryan McGilvray, shutting him out by a score of 12-0.

Miller pinned Jon Robertson at the 4:58 mark and Kwiat pinned Mike Fish at the 3:43 mark.

Sophomore Nathan Jones earned a major dec. victory over Connor O'Rourke, securing a 12-3 victory.

Southwick rounded out the match by pinning Ron Fusco in 1:28.

Northern went on to face No. 29 Olivet in the consolation semifinals.

After dropping the first four matches, Miller earned Northern's first win of the match, winning by tech fall 5:18 into the match by a 17-0 score.

At 165, sophomore Billy Painter was able to defeat Justin Jaynes by a 6-2 decision.

Kwait put away Edward Manier by a 15-2 major decision.

Sophomore Matt Alexander earned a 12-5 decision victory over Josh Crawford in the 184 weight class, rounding out the team's four wins in a row.

Northern trailed 16-15 going into the heavyweight match.

Southwick was able to edge out a 3-0 decision victory over Jake Ceslick to give the Polar Bears the 18-16 victory and a berth in the 5th place match of the tournament against King's (Pa.)

Down 10-0, Letcher got Nothern's first points in the 149 match as he pinned Noah Blackwell at the 6:12 mark of the bout.

Painter won at 165 by a 15-0 tech. fall at the 7:00 mark to bring the Polar Bears to within 13-11.

Kwait finished the tournament with a 6-0 record thanks to a 16-0 tech fall at the 3:04 mark over David Foley.

Alexander extended Northern's lead to 19-13 with his 8-3 decision victory over Frank Marinucci in the 184 weight class.

But the final two matches were won by King's to knock off the Polar Bears 20-19.

Northern returns to action on Tuesday as they welcome conference foe Muskingum to the ONU Sports Center for a 7:30 pm match.

Ohio Northern 29, No. 28 Springfield (Mass.) 16

125 -- Mike Rose (SPR) pinned Louis Piszker, 6:01
133 -- Jeremy Jones (ONU) dec. Eddie Giron, 7-6
141 -- Blaze Chatham (SPR) maj. dec. Garret Freeman, 13-5
149 -- Mick Letcher (ONU) maj. dec. Ryan McGilvray, 12-0
157 -- Luke Miller (ONU) pinned Jon Robertson, 4:58
165 -- Ronnie Thompson (SPR) dec. Billy Painter, 7-5
174 -- Kyle Kwiat (ONU) pinned Mike Fish, 3:43
184 -- Jeremy Burns (SPR) dec. Matt Alexander, 6-4
197 -- Nathan Jones (ONU) maj. dec. Connor O'Rourke, 12-3
285 -- Justin Southwick (ONU) pinned Ron Fusco, 1:28

Ohio Northern 18, No. 29 Olivet (Mich.) 16

125 – Corey Mykolaitis (OC) maj. dec. Louis Piszker, 13-4
133 – Adam Wilson (OC) dec. Jeremy Jones, 7-2
141 – Kenneth Richmond (OC) dec. Garret Freeman, 8-4
149 – Vince Tucker (OC) dec. Mick Letcher, 12-5
157 – Luke Miller (ONU) tech. fall Steven Mena, 5:18, 17-0
165 – Billy Painter (ONU) dec. Justin Jaynes, 6-2
174 – Kyle Kwiat (ONU) maj. dec. Edward Manier, 15-2
184 – Matt Alexander (ONU) dec. Josh Crawford, 12-5
197 – Joseph McAllister (OC) dec. David Jones, 3-0
285 – Justin Southwick (ONU) dec. Jake Ceslick, 3-0

King's (Pa.) 20, Ohio Northern 19

125 – Michael Tabasco (KC) maj. dec. Louis Piszker, 13-5
133 – Anthony Miele (KC) dec. Jeremy Jones, 4-1
141 – Franklin Davis (KC) dec. Garret Freeman, 7-4
149 – Mick Letcher (ONU) pinned Noah Blackwell, 6:12
157 – Taylor Green (KC) dec. Luke Miller, 6-2
165 – Billy Painter (ONU) tech. fall Adam Kerrin, 7:00, 15-0
174 – Kyle Kwiat (ONU) tech. fall David Foley, 3:04, 16-0
184 – Matt Alexander (ONU) dec. Frank Marinucci, 8-3
197 – Peter Dwyer (KC) maj. dec. David Jones, 13-1
285 – Christopher Rash (KC) dec. Justin Southwick, 5-3