Wilkes University Colonels Wrestling
Wilkes University Colonels Wrestling
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Published on February 25th by Associate Head Men's Coach, Pankil Chander
Colonels Finish Regular Season Strong
Next up: Colonels look forward to competing at the NCAA Regional Championships at Lycoming College in Williamsport, PA on Saturday, March 1st and Sunday, March 2nd to compete for bids to the NCAA Championships!
Seniors, Cadden Kucek, Caleb Burkhart, Cam Butka, Michael Richardson, Devin Doty, and Chris Nuss honored prior to our Senior Night Dual against Kings accompanied by their parents!
Five Colonels Ranked Top Three in Region
In the final National Wrestling Coaches Association poll of the regular season, the Colonels have five wrestlers ranked in the top 3 in their weight class in the region with Butka leading the way by being tabbed No. 3 in the nation at 197lbs and the top in the region at the weight class!
Region 2 Ranking Breakdown:
125: Connor Kerwin, 2nd
141: Ryan Santiago, 3rd
157: Jaryn Hartranft, 2nd
184: Chris Nuss, 6th
197: Cam Butka, 1st (3rd Nationally)
285: Caleb Burkhart, 2nd
Wilkes finishes with 22nd winning dual record in the last 25 seasons
The Colonels won six of ten bouts against the Cougars with Kerwin, Santiago, Thorpe, Nuss, Butka, and Burkhart tallying points for Wilkes.
The Colonels won seven of ten bouts against the Monarchs with Kerwin, Santiago, Thorpe, Lawrence, Nuss, Butka, and Burkhart tallying points for Wilkes.
Gitski, Shannon, and Warren Medal at Messiah Open
Gitski, Shannon, and Warren Medal at Messiah Open
Trevor Gitski led the way for the Colonels contingent by defeating Brown of Alvernia and Krauss of Muhlenberg to earn a spot in the semi-finals. He went on to drop a closely contested 4-1 bout in the semis before defeating Rickett of Franklin & Marshall in the consolation semis before losing to Penn State’s Dawson Bundy in the bronze medal bout.
Brayden Shannon went 2-2 on the day at 165lbs by defeating Nick Acque of The College of New Jersey and Niebel of Franklin & Marshall to finish 7th at the weight.
Warren rounded out the trio of medalists by tallying a win over Black of Liberty and before getting upended by Richey of Duke in the quarterfinals. Warren bounced back with wins over Butler of Messiah and unattached Woodworth to finish 7th.
Grater, Bettencourt, Sklavounos, and Gitski medal at Mideast Futures
Grater, Bettencourt, Sklavounos, and Gitski medal at Mideast Futures
The Mideast Futures serves as our last regular season tournament for our wrestlers that are not representing Wilkes at the NCAA Regional Championships, and provides great opportunity for mat time and competition.
Congratulations to Trevor Gitski, Ben Grater, Conner Sklavounos, and Jacob Bettencourt on earning a top four finish at their respective weight class at the Mideast Futures Tournament!
285: Gitski, 2nd
141: Grater, 3rd
149: Bettencourt, 4th
157: Sklavounos, 4th
Burkart among nation's pin leaders
On February 19th’s NCAA release of the most updated standings for the Most Falls, Caleb Burkhart lands at No. 3 in Division III for most falls in least amount of time with 19 pins against Division III opponents in 41:13 to finish out the regular season.
Burkhart is 36-6 on the season and 17-1 in duals. The senior won a title at the Shenandoah Invite, and medaled at the Ned McGinley Invite, Blue Jay Classic, Wilkes Open and Pete Wilson Invite.
Colonels remain in National Top 25 Ranking to finish regular season
The Colonels are getting attention from three different national outlets. The Open Mat placed Wilkes in the National Top 25 at No. 20 in the final regular season tournament team rankings, while the National Wrestling Coaches Association Poll has returning NCAA All-American, Cam Butka at No. 3 at 197lbs, 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 leads the way individually for the Colonels by capturing a nod in each of the three national platforms, while Burkhart remains in the national conversation by The Open Mat and d3wrestle.com.
National Wrestling Coaches Association Poll (As of latest ranking released on 2.21.2025)
NWCA National Poll
Cam Butka, No. 3 at 197lbs
The Open Mat National Rankings (As of latest ranking release on 2.26.25)
Tournament Team: No. 20
Cam Butka, No. 2 at 197lbs
Caleb Burkhart, No. 16 at 285lbs
D3wrestle.com National Rankings (As of latest ranking released on 2.19.25)
Jaryn Hartranft, Honorable Mention at 157lbs
Cam Butka, No. 2 at 197lbs
Caleb Burkhart, Honorable Mention at 285lbs
Future is bright for Wilkes Wrestling
More commitments roll for our men's and women's programs for incoming class of 2025!
The Wilkes University men's and women's wrestling programs are set to host a prospect clinic for wrestlers in 9th-12th grade Saturday, March 22 and Saturday, April 5.
These one day clinics hosted by the Wilkes University's provides an opportunity to gain exposure to the storied Wilkes wrestling program.
$50 for the clinic
Schedule
Schedule
9:30 - 10 a.m. | Check-in at the lobby of the Marts Center
10 a.m. - 12 p.m. | College Style Wrestling Training Session
12 - 12:30 p.m. | Locker rooms available for showers
12:30 - 2 p.m. | Campus and athletic facilities tour
Wilkes Wrestling ColonelCast is Live!
The ColonelCast will continue to feature guests on the podcast and share more impactful stories on Colonel Wrestling!
If you have any suggestions of guests to feature, please send an email with your recommendation to pankil.chander@wilkes.edu
Third episode with Rick Mahonski '77 was released in February 2025.
Listen in now to these incredibly accomplished Colonels and their journey to greatness and insights acquired along the way!
The Colonels look forward to competing at the NCAA Regional Championships at Lycoming College in Williamsport, PA on Saturday, March 1st and Sunday, March 2nd to vy for bids to the NCAA Championships!
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