Photo Gallery

EAST STROUDSBURG - East Stroudsburg University won five of the nine contested bouts, including a last-second decision by No. 10-ranked Dylan Nace at 141 pounds, as the Warriors posted a 21-19 dual win over Shippensburg in PSAC wrestling on Friday night at Koehler Fieldhouse.

ESU posted its first victory vs. the Raiders since 2011, with Shippensburg winning each of the last five matches by a total of 22 points.

The Warriors opened an 18-6 margin through the first six bouts, then held off Ship with the help of a 1-0 decision by senior Tyler Richardson at 184 pounds.

In the final two bouts of the night, Shippensburg picked up seven of the nine points it needed to tie the dual and send the final verdict to criteria, but the Warriors were able to limit the damage.

ESU won the first three bouts by decision. At 125, graduate student John Pellegrino, who made his debut last weekend, won a 2-0 decision over Dustin Steffenino in a slight upset in a match-up of Super Region 1-ranked wrestlers, with Steffenino No. 5 and Pellegrino No. 8 in the region.

Pellegrino picked up an escape four seconds into the second period, then rode out Pellegrino in the third for the riding time point and a 2-0 verdict.

Senior Connor Maliff won an 11-5 decision vs. Cole Rush at 133 on the strength of a first-period takedown and four back points. Maliff led 6-3 through two periods and 7-5 late in the third before a takedown and two back points right at the buzzer.

Nace, ranked No. 10 for his first career national ranking at 141 pounds, won the tightest match of the night with a 4-3 decision over Karl Lightner. Nace entered No. 3 in the region with Lightner, a 2015 NCAA DII qualifier, at No. 4.

It was 2-2 through two periods, with Lightner getting a takedown in the first, and Nace trailed 3-2 late into the third period before earning a takedown with five seconds left to improve to 17-2 on the season, 43-11 in his career and remain unbeaten in 22 career duals.

Shippensburg got on the board at 149 as Mike Springer, another 2015 national qualifier, pinned freshman Pierre Liciaga in 2:18.

Senior Joey Kratochvil won an 8-3 decision over Adam Martz, a 2016 national qualifier, at 157 to give the Warriors a 12-6 lead. Kratochvil, ranked No. 7 in the region, led 3-1 after one, 5-2 after two and sealed the victory with a takedown with 20 seconds remaining in the third.

Redshirt sophomore Blake Cohen won via injury default at 165 pounds, putting ESU ahead 18-6. Shippensburg freshman Billy Barnes, ranked No. 8 in the region and making his season debut, led 3-1 midway through the second period but was injured and unable to continue.

Ship won via forfeit at 174 to set up the 184-pound match-up between Richardson, ranked No. 6 in the region, and Hunter Fenk. It was scoreless through two periods, and Richardson gained the only point of the match with an escape early in the third, pushing his season record to 15-7 (8-1 duals. He won his 52nd career match and his 30th dual win against 15 setbacks.

At 197, Ship's No. 5-ranked Evan Ramos won a 10-2 major decision over senior Brandon Steele to improve to 16-1.

Derek Berberick won 7-5 over ESU freshman Daniel Makagon at 285, but needed a technical fall to force the tie. Makagon scored a takedown in the final seconds.

ESU is at Kutztown for four duals next weekend, facing Seton Hill and Belmont Abbey on Friday and Minot State and Tiffin on Saturday.


ESU 21, Shippensburg 19
125 - John Pellegrino (ESU) dec. Dustin Steffenino, 2-0 ... ESU leads, 3-0
133 - Connor Maliff (ESU) dec. Cole Rush, 11-5 ... ESU leads, 6-0
141 - No. 10 Dylan Nace (ESU) dec. Karl Lightner, 4-3 ... ESU leads, 9-0
149 - Mike Springer (Ship) pinned Pierre Liciaga, 2:18 ... ESU leads, 9-6
157 - Joey Kratochvil (ESU) dec. Adam Martz, 8-3 ... ESU leads, 12-6
165 - Blake Cohen (ESU) via inj. default vs. Billy Barnes ... ESU leads, 18-6
174 - Kyle Narber (Ship) via fofeit ... ESU leads, 18-12
184 - Tyler Richardson (ESU) dec. Hunter Fenk, 1-0 ... ESU leads, 21-12
197 - No. 5 Evan Ramos (Ship) maj. dec. Brandon Steele, 10-2 ... ESU leads, 21-16
285 - Derek Berberick (Ship) dec. Daniel Makagon, 7-5 ... ESU wins, 21-19

ESU: 3-6 (1-1 PSAC)
Ship: 5-9 (0-3 PSAC)

SR1 rankings:
125 - #5 Steffenino (Ship), #8 Pellegrino (ESU)
141 - #3 Nace (ESU), #4 Lightner (Ship)
157 - #7 Kratochvil (ESU)
165 - #8 Barnes (Ship)
184 - #6 Richardson (ESU)
197 - #1 Ramos (Ship)

DII qualifiers:
ESU - Richardson (184), 2015 at 197
Ship - Lightner (141), 2015; Matz (157), 2016; Ramos (197) 2016