Wrestling Welcomes EIWA Foe LIU for Showdown in Sojka

ANNOUNCEMENT: Due to ongoing construction in the Kenneth Langone Athletic & Recreation Center (KLARC) area, Friday's match has been moved from Davis Gym to Sojka Pavilion. Please enter through the Sojka Pavilion main entrance. Admission is free.

Bucknell (2-3, 1-0 EIWA) vs. LIU (2-4, 0-1 EIWA)
When: Friday, Dec. 20 – 6 p.m. (ET)
Where: Davis Gym – Lewisburg, Pa.
Watch: ESPN+
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_WRST

Projected Bucknell Lineup:
125: Ty Kapusta (0-1)
133: #29 Kurt Phipps (5-4)
141: #20 Dylan Chappell (7-2)
149: Aiden Davis (5-1)
157: Cade Wirnsberger (5-4)
165: Creed Thomas (1-0)
174: #31 Myles Takats (6-3)
184: Logan Deacetis (4-4)
197: #33 Dillon Bechtold (6-3)
285: Nolan Springer (3-3)

Rankings Intermat

Bucknell at a Glance:

• Bucknell seeks to even its record at 3-3 and move to 2-0 in EIWA competition.
• This is the second EIWA opponent that Bucknell has dueled during the 2024-25 season. The Orange & Blue demolished Morgan State 35-8 on Nov. 10.
• The Bison hosted Wisconsin in Davis Gym on Nov. 6 and fell 23-15 in the opening home match of the 2024-25 season.
• Four Bucknell wrestlers are ranked by Intermat with Dylan Chappell clocking the highest at #20. Freshman Dillon Bechtold is ranked for the first time in his career.
• Bucknell had the No. 25 recruiting class in the country by Intermat.
• Head coach Dan Wirnsberger is in his 19th season with the Bison and his 20th year leading the program since its revival in 2005.

A Look Back at the Wisconsin Dual

• Bucknell fell 23-15 in a heartbreaker as the Badgers won the final two bouts to erase the Bison's 15-14 advantage.
• The Bison won four bouts but two of the three ranked Orange & Blue grapplers were defeated.
• Bucknell led 8-3 when Bechtold (197) achieved a technical fall over Niccolo Colucci.
• The Orange & Blue trailed 14-8 before using wins by Chappell (141) and Davis (149) to grab a 15-14 lead.
• Wisconsin won the dual using a decision and a pin to swipe the victory.

Scouting LIU/Series History

• The Sharks are 2-4 overall and 0-1 in EIWA play.
• LIU started the season with a win over Duke before falling to Arizona State, Rutgers, and Princeton. They rebounded with a defeat over Bloomsburg before dropping their first EIWA match against Binghamton.
• This is a one-and-done trip for LIU.
• LIU went 8-8 overall and 3-4 in EIWA competition during the 2023-24 season. Their season ended finishing 15th of 17 teams at the EIWA Championships hosted by Bucknell.
• Bucknell and LIU are meeting for the fourth time. The Bison are 4-0 all-time and won 25-11 last year at Long Island.

A Look Ahead

• Bucknell heads to the prestigious Midlands Championships hosted by Northwestern on Dec. 29 & 30.

Wrestling Welcomes EIWA Foe LIU for Showdown in Sojka

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Dillon Bechtold

Dylan Chappell

Aiden Davis

Logan Deacetis

Ty Kapusta

Kurt Phipps

Nolan Springer

Myles Takats

Creed Thomas

Cade Wirnsberger