ABOUT THE MARAUDERS
• The 25th-ranked Millersville University wrestling team has a tough task ahead of them on Tuesday, Feb. 6 against No. 8 Kuztown which has two wrestlers ranked in the NWCA national rankings. The battle of two ranked opponents is set for 7 p.m. at Pucillo Gymnasium.
• Millersville's final three duals are all at home prior to the NCAA Super Regional 1 Championships on Saturday, Feb. 23. The Marauders have a tough road ahead as they face nationally-ranked Kuztown Tuesday, Shippensburg on Saturday, Feb. 9 before wrestling against Division I Franklin & Marshall in the Rupp Cup.
• As of last week's regional rankings,
Shane Ruhnke, is on top of the 165-pound weight class.
Colton Dull is ranked No. 2 at 197 pounds.
Ryan McGuire (133) is No. 3, redshirt senior
David Wuestner sit in fourth at 285 pounds.
Evan Morrill is No. 5 at 184 pounds, and
D.J. Mele is No. 6 at 149.
• Ruhnke has pinned his last six of eight opponents. Ruhnke is 10 wins from tying last year's total. At this point last year, Ruhnke was 18-5 before the Kuztown dual. Ruhnke is one of 10 Marauders in the past seven years to win 17 or more in a season.
• McGuire has a record of 15-10. The last time a Marauder freshman recorded more than 15 wins in a season was when
David Wuestner and
Shane Ruhnke did so in the 2014-15 season. Wuestner earned a 17-14 record while Ruhnke recorded a 22-12 year.
• McGuire is two wins shy of Ruhnke for the team lead in victories. McGuire is second on the team in pins with four and technical falls with three behind senior
Colton Dull's six.
• Wuestner scored a down-to-the-wire 2-1 win against Gannon and now holds a 13-8 record and is a win away from Ruhnke's six dual wins.
• The marquee matchup is at the 184-pound weight class. Junior
Evan Morrill goes up against national No. 1 Jeff Reimel who was All-American last year and a two-time national qualifier.
• The other big matchup is at 285 where Wuestner takes on No. 4-ranked Andrew Dunn Jr. who is undefeated in dual matches at 9-0.
SERIES HISTORY
Series vs. Kuztown: 31-18-1
Series Streak: KU, 12
First Meeting: 1965-66, (W, 27-8)
Last Meeting: 2017-18 (L, 16-25)
Kerry Regner vs. KU: 0-1
THE LAST TIME THESE TEAMS WRESTLED
• In 2018, the Marauders lost 25-16 in the final conference dual match.
Connor Sheehan,
Colton Dull and Ruhnke gave Millersville its three wins. Sheehan earned his win by a Kutztown forfeit.
• At 165, Ruhnke took his first technical fall victory of the season. Ruhnke led 16-5 in the beginning of the second period. Then Ruhnke went on a 6-2 run to claim the 22-7 technical fall victory that ended at 4:18 mark. Ruhnke brought the deficit to 13-11.
• Dull scored a takedown at the 2:24 mark of the first period to grab the first points of the match. Dull got Dominic Mainiero tangled up twice and scored four more points for a 6-0 lead. Dull dominated the first period and built a 10-0 lead. Mainiero never scored and Dull ended the bout with a 15-0 win.
• The score was 22-16 in favor of Kutztown entering the heavyweight bout. Millersville senior
Zachary Yackenchick needed to get a pin to tie the dual, but he was matched up against fifth-ranked Ryan Appleby. Yackenchick kept the match close but fell, 10-6.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
• The Golden Bears are returning to action after a close 18-17 victory against Gannon on Jan. 26. The match went down to the 285-pound weight class to determine the result. Needing a pin for the team victory, Dunn got a quick takedown of Keith Swartley and then shortly after secured his team-leading ninth pin of the year just 46 seconds.
• Kuztown extended its winning streak to 11 matches after sweeping Gannon and Mercyhurst. The Golden Bears' only loss came in the beginning of the season against sixth-ranked Pitt-Johnstown that ended in a 23-15 win for the Mountain Cats.
• Four Golden Bears with more have seven dual wins have not been defeated in dual matches. Dunn Jr. leads the team with eight pins. As a team, the Golden Bears are 77-21 in duals.
• Reimel finished last season winning the fifth-place match at 184 pounds to cap the 2018 NCAA Championships. Last season, the Golden Bears celebrated their 10th straight season with an All-American wrestler.
• The squad is returning two wrestlers (Reimel and Anthony Petril (141)) who earned a spot in the NCAA Championships.
• Kuztown is known for the upper weights including Connor Rogovich who became the seventh Golden Bears to register double-digit wins this season with a 7-0 decision over Connor Day at 165 in the Gannon matchup.
• The Golden Bears have five wrestlers in the newest NWCA National Rankings including Matt Wilde (125) in 12th, Chad Haegele (157) in 12th, TC Warner (174) in sixth, Reimel (184) in first, and Dunn (285) in fourth.
PROJECTED STARTERS
125 – No Entry
133 –
Ryan McGuire (15-10)
141 –
Alex Jablonski (1-15)
149 –
D.J. Mele (3-10)
157 –
Rob Saum (2-7)
165 - #3
Shane Ruhnke (17-3)
174 –
Anthony Yacovetti (6-8)
184 –
Evan Morrill (8-10)
197 –
Ryan Kokawski (8-10) or
Colton Dull (8-5)
285 –
David Wuestner (12-8)
FOLLOW THE MARAUDERS
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