Delaware Valley 24 East Stroudsburg 16
Delaware
Valley Posts 24-16 Win over ESU Wrestling
February 5, 2009
EAST STROUDSBURG Kyle Bilquist, the No. 2-ranked heavyweight in Division
III, pinned Chris Birchler 17 seconds into the second period in the final bout
of the night to give Delaware Valley College a 24-16 win over East Stroudsburg
University on Thursday night at Koehler Fieldhouse.
ESU won four straight bouts, from 141 to 165, to take a 16-9 lead before the
Aggies won the next three to take an 18-16 advantage going into the match-up
between Bilquist and Birchler, who entered with a 15-3 record. Bilquist scored a
takedown with six seconds left in the first period and then worked for the fall
early in the second to help Delaware Valley improve to 19-1-2 on the season.
Del Vals Chris Sheetz had a first period pin at 125 and Brandon Clemmer
earned a 2-1 decision over Matt Swallow at 133 to give the Aggies a 9-0 lead
through the first two bouts.
The Warriors came back, starting with a pin by sophomore Matthew Rizzo 1:57 into
his bout match-up with Eric McCann at 141. Redshirt senior Scott Heckman
followed with a 6-2 decision at 149 to tie the score at 9-9.
Redshirt sophomore Ken Monarque gave ESU the lead at 157 with a 5-3 decision
over John Giusti, and redshirt freshman Thad Frick won a 12-3 major decision
against Jake Phillips at 165 to put the Warriors ahead 16-9. Frick improved to
8-5 overall and 5-3 in duals this season.
Two of Delaware Valleys top wrestlers, Rocky Mantella and Mike Wilcox, won
decisions to bring the Aggies within a point going into the final two bouts.
Mantella ran his season record to 22-0 with a 10-3 decision against Jeff Jacobs,
and Wilcox, the defending Division III runner-up, was pushed by ESU sophomore Ed
Ebewo before pulling out a 4-2 decision.
At 197, Jeff Siciliano put the Aggies back in front with a 4-2 decision in his
bout with redshirt junior Shane Mallory, who fell to 15-6 this season. Bilquist
dropped Birchler to 15-4 on the year in the last match of the night.
ESU is back on the mat on Wednesday with a 7 p.m. match at Millersville.
Delaware Valley 24, ESU 16
125 Chris Sheetz (DV) pinned David Luthy, 1:00; DV 6-0
133 Brandon Clemmer (DV) dec. Matt Swallow, 2-1; DV 9-0
141 Matthew Rizzo (ESU) pinned Eric McCann, 1:57; DV 9-6
149 Scott Heckman (ESU) dec. Dale Fava, 6-2; tied 9-9
157 Ken Monarque (ESU) dec. John Giusti, 5-3; ESU 12-9
165 Thad Frick (ESU) maj. dec. Jake Phillips, 12-3; ESU 16-9
174 Rocky Mantella (DV) dec. Jeff Jacobs, 10-3; ESU 16-12
184 Mike Wilcox (DV) dec. Ed Ebewo, 4-2; ESU 16-15
197 Jeff Siciliano (DV) dec. Shane Mallory, 4-2; DV 18-16
285 Kyle Bilquist (DV) pinned Chris Birchler, 3:17; DV 24-16