Wrestling

No. 13 Aggies Capture York College Spartan Invitational

YORK (PA) -- The Delaware Valley College wrestling team, ranked 13th in Division III, made a case for itself to move into the top 10 as the Aggies captured first-place honors at the York College Spartan Invitational on Saturday.

Delaware Valley registered 93.5 points in the six-team event which included fellow nationally-ranked teams The College of New Jersey (9th), Montclair State (10th) and York (21st). Montclair State finished second with 75 points while York was third with 62 points. The Coast Guard Academy (55.5 points), an injury-depleted College of New Jersey squad (34.0 points) and Southern Maine (0 points) rounded out the team scoring.

The next Adidas-Brute Division III coaches poll is expected out on Tuesday, December 10.
The Aggies placed seven wrestlers in the championship finals with Mike Berlanda (157), Jason Shivak (165), Andrew Helms (197) and Kyle Phipps (Hwt) earning individual titles. B.J. Wise (141), Josh Housekeeper (174) and Rick Smith (197) were runners-up in their respective weight classes.

Berlanda, a freshman, entered the tournament with a 5-5 record, but notched three victories for his first collegiate title. He opened with a 10-0 victory over Chris Sedlack of the College of New Jersey, then downed the No. 1 seed, Kevin Ferraro of York by a 10-3 decision to reach the finals. Berlanda faced second-seeded Jesse Monzo and came away with an 18-7 major decision.

Shivak, a NCAA qualifier last season, improved to 14-5 on the season with three victories at 165 pounds. The sophomore pinned his first two opponents in 4:45 and 2:28 respectively and then earned a 9-2 decision over Billy Deniz of Montclair State in the finals.

Helms, who is ranked seventh in Division III, continued his strong start by pinning both of his opponents to win the 197-pound bracket. After a bye in the first round, the sophomore downed teammate Drew Geiger with four seconds left in the semifinal match. Helms then faced another teammate as Smith caught the second seed, Ben O'Laughlin of The Coast Guard Academy, and pinned him in 30 seconds. Helms downed Smith in 55 seconds to improve to 13-6 on the year.

Phipps, a sophomore, ran his record to 13-5 after winning three matches and the heavyweight crown. Phipps, the No. 2 seed, needed just 39 seconds to down Pat Weir of Montclair State, then downed Tom Steffen of York in 4:01. He battled top-seeded Gavin Garcia of The Coast Guard Academy in the finals and came away with a 7-3 decision.

Wise reached the 141-pound finals with a bye and a 15-8 decision over Luis Quinnohes of York. He then faced Brian Radik of The Coast Guard Academy and was edged, 13-12.

Housekeeper, a 2002 NCAA All-American and the No. 2-ranked wrestler at 174 pounds this season, had a bye then posted a 10-4 decision over Paul Vaccaro of College of New Jersey to reach the finals. Housekeeper faced the defending NCAA champion and No. 1 seed Eduard Aliakseyenka of Montclair State and dropped a 14-6 decision to fall to 13-3 on the year.

Jeremy Messinger (149) and Luke Morris (184) placed third for Delaware Valley while Andrew Belding (133), Aaron Harris (157), Geiger (197) and Forrest Smith (Hwt) were fourth.