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EAST STROUDSBURG – East Stroudsburg University won two of the three match-ups between regionally-ranked wrestlers, but No. 14 Pitt-Johnstown proved to be deep enough to pull out a 25-15 dual win in Super Region 1 on Wednesday night at Koehler Fieldhouse.

UPJ won the first four bouts, including a 5-3 decision by Jack Bachman, ranked No. 3 in Division II, over ESU redshirt senior Adam Hluschak (No. 4, DII) at 141 pounds, before the Warriors rallied.

Redshirt sophomore Braden Turner earned a 1-0 decision over Joel Paolo at 157, getting an escape with 24 seconds left in the second period and riding out Paolo in the third to earn the victory.

At 165, redshirt senior Thad Frick, ranked 6th in the region, had an 8-5 decision over Zach Lundgren, ranked 4th in the region. Frick used an active second period to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 6-5 lead going into the third, then got an early escape and a stalling warning on Lundgren in the final period.

The match of the night came at 174, where redshirt sophomore Brendan McKeown won a 6-4 decision in the second sudden victory period over UPJ freshman Travis McKillop, a state champion last year. McKillop had a takedown 12 seconds into the match and rode out McKeown in the first period, but McKeown got a takedown in the final two seconds of the second period to trail 3-2 overall and 2:00 in riding time entering the third.

There was no scoring in an entertaining final period until McKeown notched a takedown just before the buzzer to send the match to overtime at 4-all after the riding time point was added. Neither wrestler scored in the first sudden victory or overtime periods before McKeown recorded the winning takedown just over a half-minute into the second 1:00 of sudden victory.

The Warriors trailed 16-9 going into the 184 pound bout, which was tied at 4-all early in the second when senior James Gonzalez found himself in a precarious position and UPJ redshirt sophomore Gary Lantz capitalized with a no-control pin at 3:25 to put UPJ ahead 22-9.

At 197, ESU redshirt senior Ed Ebewo, ranked No. 7 in Division II and No. 1 in the region, led Zak Newton 5-0 with a sizeable edge in riding time when Newton was injured at the end of the second period and could not continue. Ebewo improved to 6-1 on the season with the medical default.

In the final match, UPJ's Josh Krupa used a third-period reversal and the riding time point for a 5-3 decision over ESU redshirt junior Joe Blaes, who was wrestling up at 285.

The match-up between Hluschak and Bachman highlighted the lower weights, where UPJ benefitted from all four wrestlers with regional rankings and three with national rankings from 125 through 149.

David Fogle had a 12-0 major decision over freshman Zach Jones at 125. Ryan Link, a returning All-American and the No. 3-ranked wrestler in Division II at 133, pinned freshman Chris Davis in 1:44.

Bachman had a takedown as time expired in the first period for a 4-1 lead and rode Hluschak out in the second period for a 2:59 riding time advantage entering the third. Hluschak gained two back points midway through the third period, but was unable to turn Bachman again for the final 5-3 decision.

At 149, No. 6-ranked Nathan Link won a 12-6 decision over ESU redshirt senior Andrew Ritchie.

Hluschak goes to 11-2, Frick improves to 9-2 and Ebewo is 6-1 to lead the Warriors entering this weekend's PSAC Championships on Saturday at Mercyhurst College. Seedings for the championship will be released on Friday night.


#14 UPJ 25, ESU 15
125 - David Fogle (UPJ) maj. dec. Zach Jones, 12-0; UPJ leads 4-0
133 - #3 Ryan Link (UPJ) pinned Chris Davis, 1:44; UPJ leads 10-0
141 - #3 Jack Bachman (UPJ) dec. #4 Adam Hluschak, 5-3; UPJ leads 13-0
149 - #6 Nathan Link (UPJ) dec. Andrew Ritchie, 12-6; UPJ leads 16-0
157 - Braden Turner (ESU) dec. Joel Paolo, 1-0; UPJ leads 16-3
165 - Thad Frick (ESU) dec. Zach Lundgren, 8-5; UPJ leads 16-6
174 - Brendan McKeown (ESU) dec. Travis McKillop, 6-4:sv2; UPJ leads 16-9
184 - Gary Lantz (UPJ) pinned James Gonzalez, 3:25; UPJ leads 22-9
197 - #7 Ed Ebewo (ESU) med. forfeit (5:00) over Zak Newton; UPJ leads 22-15
285 - Josh Krupa (UPJ) dec. Joe Blaes, 5-3; UPJ wins 25-15

Regional rankings:
125 – David Fogle (UPJ) #5
133 – Ryan Link (UPJ) #1, Chris Davis (ESU) #6 125
141 – Jack Bachman (UPJ) #1, Adam Hluschak (ESU) #3
149 – Nathan Link (UPJ) #3
157 – Joel Paolo (UPJ) #6
165 – Zach Lundgren (UPJ) #4, Thad Frick (ESU) #6
174 – Travis McKillop (UPJ) #4, Brendan McKeown (ESU) #5
184 – James Gonzalez (ESU) #6
197 – Ed Ebewo (ESU) #1