Scranton, PA - January 23, 2025: The Wilkes University wrestling team, ranked 16th in the NCAA Division III standings, defeated Scranton University tonight 42-14 in a match that lasted approximately 45 minutes. In all, there was only one bout that went the full seven minutes while there were seven falls, one technical fall, and one forfeit.
The match started at 125 pounds and Wilkes won the first five. Connor Kerwin (125) of Wilkes pinned Scranton’s Mark Ortiz at the 1:35 mark. Scranton won their first bout of the evening at 165 pounds when Donnell Young won by tech fall over Conner Skalvounos. Scranton followed with two more wins before Wilkes finished the night with two wins at 197 and 285 pounds.
Jaryn Hartranft of Wilkes, and former Catasauqua High School student-athlete, won his bout at 157 with a pin. Hartranft was a four-time District XI 2A finalist while at Catty. He is currently a junior sports management major at Wilkes.
Mark Ortiz, a junior at Scranton and former Stroudsburg Area High School student-athlete, was the only other District XI wrestler in the lineup. Ortiz, a finance major, lost his bout at 125 pounds to Kerwin.
Wilkes improved to 9-6 overall and with the win, Coach Jon Laudenslager recorded his 300th victory as Coach. Laudenslager is in his 22nd season at the helm for Wilkes. He is a 1998 graduate of Wilkes University.
Scranton with the loss falls to 4-2 overall.
Here are the complete results:
125 – Connor Kerwin (W) fall Mark Ortiz (S) 1:35
133 – Michael Richardson (W) fall Charles Arobone (S) :46
141 – Ben Grater (W) fall Kevin Cordero (S) 1:56
149 – Jacob Bettencourt (W) fall Shkeb Nadir (S) :50
157 – Jaryn Hartranft (W) fall Aidan Vierun (S) 1:28
165 – Donnell Young (S) tech fall Conner Skalvounos (W) 17-1
174 – Jake Rudy (S) dec. Joshua Wilkins (W) 9-7
184 – Jacob Burgette (S) fall Patrick Gordon III (W) 1:25
197 – Cameron Butka (W) won by forfeit
285 – Caleb Burkhart (W) fall Max Shnipes (S) :51
