GRANTHAM (PA) – The Delaware Valley College wrestling team, ranked third in the country, ran its record to 14-1-1 on the season as the visiting Aggies blanked No. 27 Messiah College, 46-0.

It is the sixth time this year that Delaware Valley has defeated a nationally-ranked squad. The Aggies will hit the mats against another top opponent on Friday, January 23 (7:00 p.m.) when they travel to 19th-ranked Wilkes University.

Delaware Valley racked up three pins, three technical falls, one major decision and three decisions, en route to the shutout. Chris Sheetz kicked off the match with his 24th win of the season (24-3) as the fifth-ranked wrestler at 125 pounds needed just 3:43 to drop Danny Lethbridge. Brandon Clemmer, ranked ninth at 133, earned a 15-1 major decision over Andrew Rentzel to improve his mark to 19-5.

Eric McCann (141), Dale Fava (149) and Robbie Hickman (157) each notched decisions to up the Aggie lead to 19-0 at the halfway point of the match. McCann had a 7-4 decision over Alex Dehart to improve to 15-7 while Fava's 9-4 triumph over Mike Bressler was his ninth in 13 matches. Hickman ran his mark to 11-8 with a 7-4 victory over Craig Gin.

Delaware Valley then received three consecutive technical falls from Justin Barowski (165) and nationally-ranked wrestles Rocky Mantella (174) and Mike Wilcox (184) for a 34-0 advantage. Barowski improved to 16-5 with an 18-2 victory over Trey Speers. Mantella, ranked fifth in his weight class, remained undefeated at 16-0 with a 25-8 showing over Tim Stewart. Wilcox, ranked second, posted an 18-0 blanking over Nate Diesem for his 21st win in 23 tries.

Martin Porter and Kyle Bilquist ended the evening with back-to-back pins at 197 pounds and heavyweight respectively. Porter stopped Tim Hopkins with 12 seconds remaining in the second period (4:48) to move his mark to 16-5. Bilquist, ranked third in the country in his weight class, improved to 17-3 as dropped Zane Bachert in just 1:46.

NO. 3 DELAWARE VALLEY COLLEGE 46, NO. 27 MESSIAH COLLEGE 0
125 – Chris Sheetz (DVC) by fall over Danny Lethbridge, 3:43 (6-0 DVC)
133 - Brandon Clemmer (DVC) by major decision over Andrew Rentzel, 15-1 (10- DVC)
141 - Eric McCann (DVC) by decision over Alex Dehart, 7-4 (13-0 DVC)
149 - Dale Fava (DVC) by decision over Mike Bressler, 9-4 (16-0 DVC)
157 - Robbie Hickman (DVC) by decision over Craig Gin, 7-4 (19-0 DVC)
165 - Justin Barowski (DVC) by technical fall over Trey Speers, 18-2 (24-0 DVC)
174 - Rocky Mantella (DVC) by technical fall over Tim Stewart, 25-8 (29-0 DVC)
184 - Mike Wilcox (DVC) by technical fall over Nate Diesem, 18-0 (34-0 DVC)
197 - Martin Porter (DVC) by fall over Tim Hopkins, 4:48 (40-0 DVC)
285 - Kyle Bilquist (DVC) by fall over Zane Bachert, 1:46 (46-0 DVC)