WILLIAMSPORT, PA – This Friday, the Williams College Ephs traveled to Lamade Gymnasium at Lycoming College, where they competed in the Budd Whitehill Duals Tournament, a competition named after the revered coach of the Lycoming Warriors, Budd Whitehill. The Budd Whitehill Duals Tournament is considered one of the most prestigious competitions in Division III wrestling and attracts some of the best wrestling programs from across the nation. In this competition, the 16 invited teams are divided into four groups of four (A, B, C, and D) that then compete in a round-robin tournament. The winners of each group today compete in a four-team tournament for the championship tomorrow, while those who did not place first in their respective groups compete in a separate bracket.
The Ephs without wrestlers competing at 125 and 133 fell in all three matches.
The Ephs began at 9 AM, facing off against Wisconsin-Eau Claire, one of the premiere programs in the nation that is currently ranked 8th by the NWCA. On top of facing some formidable opponents, the Ephs did not have wrestlers competing at the 125 and 133 weight classes today, forcing them to forfeit their first two matches of each dual. The Ephs showed grit against Wisconsin-Eau Claire by going toe to toe with tough competition but ultimately lost. Having two more meets against Messiah and Cortland State later in the day, the Ephs wasted no time licking their wounds, and instead, they immediately regrouped and prepared for the next round of bouts.
In the second meet of the day, Williams clashed against the Messiah Falcons. Having to forfeit their first two matches once again, the Ephs were at an early disadvantage. But in the 4th match against Messiah, Caleb Seyfried swung the momentum back in Williams' direction with a victory by fall late in the third period. The Ephs demonstrated their resilience by winning three of the four bouts following Seyfried's match, including dominant performances by Henry Forte at 165, William Smith at 174, and Dante Gutbrod at 184. Forte stood out against Messiah, earning a decisive win by fall three minutes in. Smith also impressed with a closely contested win by a 7-6 decision.
In the final dual of the day, the Ephs faced Cortland State, a team they hosted last weekend at the Williams Open. Dante Gutbrod impressed, building on his strong victory against Messiah. The senior and captain got an early takedown in his bout against Cortland and refused to let his opponent return to his feet for the rest of the first period. In the second period, Gutbrod earned an escape point just a few seconds in, and moments later took down his opponent resulting in a 15-0 victory by tech fall and an outstanding performance. Gutbrod showed his experience and quality today, winning both his matches and holding both his opponents to zero points.
Commenting on his teams' valiant efforts today, Eph head coach Scott Honecker said, "Obviously the lineup is going through it a little bit, so it was really on the guys who competed today to keep their focus. I was really proud of the way we responded to a drubbing from one of the top teams in the country. We showed a great response to the adversity between the forfeits and the tough competition. I was inspired by our fight against Messiah and Cortland. I think we can overcome our two vacant weights and win tomorrow. We are going to head back to the hotel, make weight, and then focus on the next task at hand."
As coach Honecker stated, all the attention now turns to tomorrow, where the Ephs will fight for a win against more top competition in Lamade Gymnasium.
Below are Williams' results from today:
Dual #1:
Williams vs Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Williams forfeited matches at 125 and 133 weight classes.
Tylor Stubbs (141) loss by 3:43 fall to Andrew Kested
Donnie Morton (149) loss by 12-0 decision to Zach Sato
Leonardo Maiuolo (157) loss by 18-3 tech fall to Jan Hernandez-Soto
Henry Forte (165) loss by 6-3 decision to Tristan Massie
William Smith (174) loss by 15-0 tech fall to Jared Stricker
Max Hall (184) loss by 9-5 decision to Preston Carlisle
Wyatt Moyer (197) loss by 20-3 tech fall to Cole Matulenko
Thomas Goodwin (285) loss by 1:52 fall to Sloan Welch
Dual Meet Score:
Wisc. Eau Claire 49
Williams 0
Dual #2:
Williams vs Messiah
Williams forfeited matches at 125 and 133 weight classes.
Tylor Stubbs (141) loss by 3:32 fall to Josiah Gehr
Caleb Seyfried (149) win by 6:33 fall over Dalton Monger
Leonardo Maiuolo (157) loss by 5:36 fall to Clay Gainer
Henry Forte (165) win by 3:00 fall over Andrew Kozubal
William Smith (174) win by 7-6 decision over Chris Cratsley
Dante Gutbrod (184) win by 3-0 fall over Ryder Slayton
Wyatt Moyer (197) loss by 7-4 SV to Sawyer Dereszynski
Thomas Goodwin (285) loss by 1:53 fall to Christian Conner
Dual Meet
Messiah 33
Williams 18
Dual #3:
Williams vs Cortland State
Williams forfeited matches at 125 and 133 weight classes.
Tylor Stubbs (141) win by 4:47 fall over Shane Walczyk
Donnie Morton (149) loss by 19-4 tech fall to Angelo Centrone
Leonardo Maiuolo (157) loss by 2:03 fall to Christian Paredes
Sean Tansey (165) loss by 1:20 fall to Hunter Hughes
William Smith (174) win by 12-5 decision over Nick Ross
Dante Gutbrod (184) win by 15-0 tech fall over Karam Saraireh
David Laprade (197) win by 3:53 fall over Robert Cunningham
Thomas Goodwin (285) loss by 1:09 fall to Dylan Houseknecht
Dual Meet Score
Cirtland 35
Williams 20
