HACKETTSTOWN (NJ) – Delaware Valley College ranked ninth in Division III, split a pair of matches at the Metropolitan Conference Duals at Centenary College. The Aggies opened with a 32-3 triumph over Hunter College, but dropped a 29-9 decision to No. 8 Wilkes University.

Delaware Valley is now 6-1 in dual meets this season and will have 13 days off before it hosts third-ranked Cortland State University on Friday evening, February 1 (6:00 p.m.). The following afternoon (12:00 p.m.), it will take on 11th-ranked Ithaca College.

The match with Hunter opened with a big battle at 125 pounds as returning All-American Charlie Frankel took on seventh-ranked Jaydon Rice. It was all Frankel as the Aggie senior notched a 7-1 decision.

Decisions by Pat Davis and Dale Fava at 133 and 141 pounds respectively and top-ranked Emmanuel Ajagbe was awarded a forfeit at 149 for a 15-0 Delaware Valley advantage. James Dugan added five more points at 157 as he registered a 20-5 technical fall victory over Nicholas Wikie. Hunter took two of next three weight classes with Dallas Winston picking up the Aggie win at 174with a 6-0 blanking of Luke Pragdat.

A battle of nationally-ranked wrestlers took place at 197 as No. 4 Aaron Karns took on Hunter's Musa DeReese (No. 8). Karns squeezed out a 4-3 victory to improve to 20-2 on the year. Michael Boardman ended the match by winning by disqualification and Hunter was deducted three team points for misconduct for the 32-3 final.

That set the stage for the premier match of the duals and the meeting of the top 10 teams. Frankel got the Aggies off to a good start with a 6-5 decision over Gueseppe Rea to improve to 10-5 on the season.

The Colonels (10-3) took home a major and a decision at the next two weights for a 7-3 lead heading into the 149-pound weight class and Ajagbe (22-1) putting his number one ranking on the line against seventh-ranked Mark Hartenstine (9-1). Hartenstine ended Ajagbe's 14-match winning streak with a 7-3 decision.

Wilkes took the next two weights, including a pin by fifth-ranked Kris Krawchuk at 157, for a 20-3 lead. Winston ended the run and upped his mark to 17-6 as a takedown in overtime gave him a 3-1 victory.

The Colonels picked up their final points with a major decision at 184 and a pin at heavyweight. In-between, Karns won his 21st match in 23 tries as a takedown and a three-point near-fall in overtime resulted in a 7-2 decision over Matt Transue.


DELAWARE VALLEY COLLEGE 32, HUNTER COLLEGE 3
125 – Charlie Frankel (DelVal) by decision over Jaydon Rice, 7-1 (3-0 DelVal)
133 – Pat Davis (DelVal) by decision over Kenny Albert, 8-4 (6-0 DelVal)
141 – Dale Fava (DelVal) by decision over Chris Gogatz, 5-2 (9-0 DelVal)
149 – Emmanuel Ajagbe (DelVal) by forfeit (15-0 DelVal)
157 – James Dugan (DelVal) by technical fall over Nicholas Wikie, 20-5 (20-0 DelVal)
165 – Jesse Bader (Hunter) by decision over Nick Della Fera, 3-2 (20-3 DelVal)
174 – Dallas Winston (DelVal) by decision over Luke Pragdat, 6-0 (23-3 DelVal)
184 – Dennis Melendez (Hunter) by decision over Connor Gabriel, 5-3 OT (23-6 DelVal)
197 – Aaron Karns (DelVal) by decision over Musa DeReese, 4-3 (26-6 DelVal)
285 – Michael Boardman (DelVal) by disqualification over Leon Bodden (32-6 DelVal)
*** Hunter deducted three team points for misconduct (32-3 DelVal)

WILKES UNIVERSITY 29, DELAWARE VALLEY COLLEGE 9
125 – Charlie Frankel (DelVal) by decision over Guesseppe Rea, 6-5 (3-0 DelVal)
133 – Myzar Mendoza (Wilkes) by major decision over David Davidson, 9-0 (4-3 Wilkes)
141 – Jeff Peterson (Wilkes) by decision over Dale Fava, 6-1 (7-3 Wilkes)
149 – Mark Hartenstine (Wilkes) by decision over Emmanuel Ajagbe, 7-3 (10-3 Wilkes)
157 – Kris Krawchuk (Wilkes) by fall over James Dugan, 4:30 (16-3 Wilkes)
165 – Nathan White (Wilkes) by decision over Nick Della Fera, 5-0 (19-3 Wilkes)
174 – Dallas Winston (DelVal) by decision over Dustin Stough, 3-1 OT (19-6 Wilkes)
184 – Eric Bach (Wilkes) by major decision over Connor Gabriel, 8-0 (23-6 Wilkes)
197 – Aaron Karns (DelVal) by decision over Matt Transue, 7-2 OT (23-9 Wilkes)
285 – William Fletcher (Wilkes) by fall over Michael Boardman, 1:30 (29-9 Wilkes)