Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
Published on December 30th, 2024 by Associate Head Men's Wrestling Coach, Pankil Chander
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It’s been an exciting month of December for the Colonels as our student-athletes are continuing the strong tradition of excellence at Wilkes Wrestling on and off the mat. Our program’s student-athletes head into 2025 after a stellar semester academically with 19 wrestlers with above a 3.0 GPA and nine of those earning a spot on Wilkes University’s Dean list! Several of those wrestlers are on track to earn the Scholar All-America honor come the spring, and we’re excited to continue support these inspired young men on this journey.
Between the momentum on the mat, hosting a premier college wrestling event in the 91st Wilkes Open, and witnessing our alumni experience tremendous success, it continues to remind us why it’s such a great time to be a part of Wilkes Wrestling!
(Wilkes Colonels are ranked No. 18 as a dual team by The Open Mat’s latest release on 12.25.24)
Wilkes improves to 18th ranked team in the Nation; Hartranft, Butka, and Burkhart remain in national conversation; Six Colonels gaining regional recognition
The Colonels are getting attention from three different national outlets. The Open Mat placed Wilkes in the National Top 25 at No. 18 in the dual team rankings, while the National Wrestling Coaches Association Poll had returning NCAA All-American, Cam Butka at No. 4 at 197lbs and returning NCAA Qualifier, Caleb Burkhart at No. 12 at 285lbs, while more than half of the Colonels' lineup is featured in the NCAA DIII Region 2 rankings. Additionally, a few of our wrestlers earned a spot in the d3wrestle.com national rankings.
Butka, Burkhart lead the way individually for the Colonels by capturing a nod in each of the three national platforms, while Hartranft remains in the national conversation by The Open Mat and d3wrestle.com.
National Wrestling Coaches Association Poll (As of latest ranking released on 12.20.24)
NWCA National Poll (Read more by clicking here)
Cam Butka, No. 4 at 197lbs
Caleb Burkhart, No. 12 at 285lbs
NWCA Regional Poll for Region 2 (Read more by clicking here)
Ryan Santiago, No. 4 at 141lbs
Jaryn Hartranft, No. 2 at 157lbs
Melquan Warren, No. 4 at 174lbs
Chris Nuss, No. 4 at 184lbs
Cam Butka, No. 1 at 197lbs
Caleb Burkhart, No. 2 at 285lbs
The Open Mat National Rankings (As of latest ranking release on 12.25.24)
Dual Team: No. 18
Jaryn Hartranft, No. 17 at 157lbs
Cam Butka, No. 6 at 197lbs
Caleb Burkhart, No. 12 at 285lbs
D3wrestle.com National Rankings (As of latest ranking released on 12.18.24)
Jaryn Hartranft, Contender at 157lbs
Cam Butka, No. 5 at 197lbs
Caleb Burkhart, Honorable Mention at 285lbs
(The Colonels after being awarded the Blue Jay Classic Team Championship Trophy. Read more by clicking here)
(Hartranft, Butka, Santiago, and Warren gather after earning individual titles at Blue Jay Classic)
Wilkes cruised to a team championship with 194 points and outpacing the runner-up team by 62 points and a nationally relevant field that included Ferrum (No. 14 in The Open Mat National Rankings and No. 18 in the NWCA National Poll), Elizabethtown (No. 20 in The Open Mat National rankings).
Highlight performances includes Caleb Burkhart earning his 100th collegiate victory in the semifinals, while Jaryn Hartranft defeats returning NCAA All-American Xavier Howard of McDaniel in the finals, and Cam Butka earning the rubber match victory over nationally ranked Will Davis of Elizabethtown in the 197lb championship bout.
(Caleb Burkhart earned his 100th win in the semi-finals of Blue Jay Classic on Saturday, December 7th)
Caleb Burkhart amassed only 74 wins in his high school career when he earned the coveted Pennsylvania State Medal at the 2021 PIAA AA State Championships. In a great testament to his resilience and perseverance, the returning NCAA Championships Qualifier has reached new heights in college by earning 100 collegiate victories. Burkhart is a 3x NCAA Regional medalist and finished the last two seasons in the top ten in all of NCAA Division III for most falls in the least amount of time. This season alone, Caleb has earned bronze medal finishes at the Ned McGinley Invitational and the 91st Wilkes Open, a silver at the Blue Jay Classic, and a gold medal at the Shenandoah Invitational.
Burkhart joins teammate, Cam Butka in the 100-win category this season. Butka earned his 100th victory earlier this season on the way to a Ned McGinley Invitational Championship.
(Cam Butka sits down with News Channel WNEP 16 to discuss his path as a Wilkes Colonel)
(Vintage and Contemporary look at the heritage of the Wilkes Open. Top picture is the Wilkes Open in the Marts Center in 1990. Bottom picture is the Wilkes Open in the Marts Center on December 20th, 2024)
Fun fact: Wilkes Wrestler Mark Popple defeated NCAA Champion Ken Mallory in the 1982 Wilkes Open Finals
(Cam Butka and Caleb Burkhart earn bronze medals at the “Rose Bowl”. Read more by clicking here)
The Wilkes Open, historically known as The "Rose Bowl" of College Wrestling has a storied tradition of being one of the premier college wrestling tournaments in the nation and is a standard we continue to uphold as this year was the 91st annual event that featured a multi-divisional field with NCAA Division I wrestlers in programs within conferences like the ACC, EIWA, Ivy league, SoCon; NCAA Division II wrestlers in programs within the PSAC conference, and a wide array of NCAA Division III programs within conferences like the NESCAC, MAC, Landmark, and more.
Cam Butka and Caleb Burkhart earned a medal at the 91st Wilkes Open and their second consecutive medal of their careers, with their lone loss coming in the championship bracket to opponents from Division I Appalachian State before earning a pair of wins on the backside to finish with a bronze medal.
(Dave Gregrow pictured with his coach and National Hall of Fame Wilkes Wrestling Coach, the late John Reese, nearly 45 years apart – From his competitive days in 1975 to returning to campus for homecoming in 2019)
Dave Gregrow '78 to be inducted into the Wilkes Athletics Hall of Fame
1978 Wilkes Alumnus David Gregrow was recently announced an inductee in the 31st class of the Wilkes University Athletics Hall of Fame!
Gregrow was a three-time EIWA place winner at 190lbs placing third twice and fifth once. During Wilkes’ twenty-year tenure in the Division I landscape, Gregrow was the only 190-pounder to qualify for the NCAA Championships in 1977 and 1978.
Gregrow went on to have a successful career in leadership at Lockheed Martin for over 30 years.
2024 has been great to the Colonels Wrestling program and we look forward to putting in the effort to earn more hall of fame moments in 2025! It’s a great time to be a Colonel!
Wilkes returns to the mat for the Bud Whitehill National Duals held at Lycoming College in Williamsport, PA on January 10th & 11th.
Good luck as you continue your season in 2025 and happy new year!
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