WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The 26^th-ranked Thiel wrestling team took seventh place at the 20-team Budd Whitehill Duals, hosted by Lycoming College Saturday. The two-day dual match tournament featured eight teams ranked in the top 30 by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA), and the seventh place finish by the Tomcats is its best in 13 appearances at the prestigious tournament.

Thiel has now placed four times in its 13 appearances at the Budd Whitehill Duals, with an eighth-place finish in 1995 being the last time the Tomcats placed before today.

To begin day two, the Tomcats beat Williams College, 31-9 to advance to the placing round, but a hard luck, 18-15 loss to the 23^rd-ranked Heidelberg University Student Princes set up a rematch with The College of New Jersey for seventh place. Thiel proved more than ready for the rematch, handily defeating the Lions, 27-9 to capture seventh place.

The Tomcats won eight of ten bouts to cruise past Williams, 31-9, in the consolation bout, led by a pin by sophomore 197-pounder Shawn Reynolds (Cambridge Springs, Pa./Cambridge Springs) and a major decision by freshman 125-pounder Vince Vahaly (Bentleyville, Pa./Bentworth).
 
141-pounder Nick Sutton (Butler, Pa./Butler) improved to 12-8 on the season with an 8-3 decision over Carson Brooks. Freshman Chris Nuss (West Homestead, Pa/Central Catholic) (149) posted a 6-1 win over Noah Feldstein and Brandon Collins (Hadley, Pa./Commodore Perry) (157) added a 5-0 win over Austin Wruble. Junior Sean Byham (Saegertown, Pa./Saegertown) (165) followed with a 6-0 decision against Kyle Gaffney.

After consecutive wins by Williams trimmed Thiel's lead to 22-9, back-to-back wins by Reynolds and sophomore Blake Heim (Greenville, Pa./Reynolds) (285) secured the win for the Tomcats.

Against 23^rd-ranked Heidelberg, the Tomcats won four bouts, but a decision by the Student Princes at 285 pounds broke a 15-15 tie to help Heidelberg escape with an 18-15 win.

After four losses to begin the meet, Thiel got on the board in the 157-pound match, as Byham posted a 4-0 win over Aaron Banko. A loss at 165 gave the Student Princes a 16-3 lead, but juniors Jordan Powell (Hadley, Pa./Commodore Perry) (174), Jerrold Roosa (Randolph, N.Y./Randolph Central) (184) and Jacob Lowry (Smithfield, Pa./Albert Gallatin) (197) tied the match at 15-15. Heidelberg was deducted a team point due to flagrant misconduct during Roosa's win over 2013 NCAA qualifier Richard Dowdley. Roosa pushed his record to 15-5 with the win.
 
Unfortunately, Heidelberg sent 285-pounder Nino Majoy to the mat, who is listed in the d3wrestle.com contender rankings, to close the match and earn a three-point decision that gave the Student Princes the win.

The Tomcats rebounded to win seven of 10 bouts against The College of New Jersey to post a 27-9 win and a seventh place finish.

The victory also marked the first victory over The College of New Jersey (formerly known as Trenton State) in school history. 

Byham improved to 3-0 on the day, and 7-7 on the year, with a 3-2 win over Chris Serpico at 157, while Lowry remains undefeated at 20-0 with a 6-5 win over Frank Crocco at 197.

Thiel returns to the mat on Jan. 18 to take part in the Max Servis Duals, hosted by Wabash College. Wrestling begins at 10 a.m.