WILLIAMSPORT, Penn. - The Williams College wrestling team earned third place at the highly competitive Budd Whitehill National Duals held on Friday and Saturday in Pennsylvania.
The Ephs won Group D on Friday, defeating Cortland, Lycoming, and Messiah to finish at the top of the group, and started Saturday with a tight loss to eventual tournament winner Wisconsin-Eau Claire before beating Ohio Northern to earn third place.
Friday's matches started with a 28-20 win over #18 SUNY Cortland, with Fisher Stites at 165 and Connor Reynolds at 285 both earning six points with pins. Other winners included Henry Forte at 174 and Jamie Evarts at 184 both winning by tech fall (5 points), and Christopher Colon at 125 and Peter Kane at 157 earning 3-point decisions.
Next came a 27-15 win over Lycoming, and three Ephs earned the maximum six points with falls: Colon, Leo Tansey at 157, and Stites. Donnie Morton at 141, Gage Wiggins at 174, and Evarts all earned three points in the victory.
Friday's final match was a tight 24-22 win over #20 Messiah, which won Williams its group and qualified the team to wrestle in Saturday's championship bracket. Colon and Kane earned six points with pins, Evarts earned five with a technical fall, Wiggins earned four with a major decision, and Jake Strianese earned three points with a 2-0 decision at 133.
To open Saturday, the Ephs squared off against #11 Eau Claire in a closely-fought battle against tough competition. Kane and Evarts each earned five points with tech falls, Wiggins captured a major decision, and Strianese earned a decision, but Eau Claire won six of the matches to advance to the championship match.
In the third-place match, Williams took on Ohio Northern, and put in a strong performance in the lower weight classes to earn the win, which finished with a score of 26-18 after the Ephs gave up forfeits at the top two weight classes. Lucas Johnson at 125 and Kane each won by pin, Forte captured a tech fall, and Strianese, Tansey, and Wiggins all earned decisions to secure the win.
The Ephs will be back in action next weekend, visiting Bridgewater State University for a dual match at 12:30pm.
