WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Feb. 15) -- Thiel College's Seth Phillips (Hubbard, Ohio/Western Reserve) won his third consecutive heavyweight title while Joey King (Cooperstown, Pa./Maplewood) took the 197-pound crown at the Presdients' Athletic Conference (PAC) Wrestling Championships Saturday from Waynesburg University's Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse. As a team, the Tomcats finished third with 55 points.
 
Phillips went up against Christian McChesney in the final as the Hubbard, Ohio native looked to avenge his early-season 7-1 loss to the W&J heavyweight. The two were deadlocked at 1 in the third period as both got their points on escapes. In the final seconds of the third period, Phillips forced McChesney to the ground and was able to get the take down just before time expired to win the championship bout 4-1.

He topped Edward Powers of Hiram with a pin (4:31) in his first bout. The quarterfinals pitted Phillips against W&J's Trevor Manley in a rematch of the 2022 final and Phillips prevailed with a second fall (5:31). The two-time reigning champion avenged a regular-season loss to Saint Vincent's Brad Miller in the semifinals with an 11-0 major decision.
 
Phillips is the first Tomcat to three-peat at heavyweight since Kyle Brown won four consecutive from 2004-07. His championship is the 26th at 285 in program history. Phillips improved to 14-6 on the season with seven wins via pin.

King went up against Hiram's Jaden Bell in the championship bout. The dominant sophomore made easy work of Bell as he logged his third pin (0:35) of the day for the title.

He topped Washington and Jefferson's Connor Garren via pin (1:04) in his first bout before pinning Waynesburg's Ayden Bishoff in just 25 seconds in the semis.  
 
King's championship is the programs 16th at 197 pounds in program history and the first since current assistant coach Gage Gladysz did so in 2019. King improved to 16-2 on the season with eight of his victories coming by way of fall.
 
At 125 pounds, EJ McCarthy (Hubbard, Ohio/Hubbard) placed fourth. He won a 10-8 decision over Waynesburg's Ryland Parker in the consolation round before dropping a 5-0 decision to W&J's Michael Cruz in the third-place bout.
 
At 141, Chase Kyler (Sheffield, Pa./Sheffield) had a pin (1:20) over Hiram's Will Brodbeck in the consolations before being pinned in the third-place final to finish fourth. Jacob Potts (Oakdale, Pa./South Fayette) won a 16-10 decision over Waynesburg's JT Hollyfield in the consolation bracket before dropping the third-place bout to Saint Vincent's Tyler Debnar to place fourth at 149.
 
Landon Mead (Clarendon, Pa./Sheffield) logged a pin (2:37) in his first bout at 157 before falling in the semifinals and third-place bout to finish fourth. Giovanni Elinsky (Warren, Pa./Warren) took fourth at 165.

Wrestling returns to action Friday, Feb. 28, and Saturday, March 1, for the NCAA Division III Southeast Regionals at Averett University in Danville, Va.