WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- There is a new challenge coming to the landscapes of Penn College and Lycoming College athletics. The two institutions separated across downtown Williamsport have shared the 'Battle for the Lumber' in soccer and the 'Crosstown Challenge' in basketball, now wrestling gets to go center stage at the Williamsport Community Arts Center when the Wildcats and Warriors meet for the 'Billtown Brawl' on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m.
Admission is free to all spectators and doors will open at 1 p.m., for the event.
The event set up by Wildcats head coach Pankil Chander is the first-of-its-kind in Central PA as Penn College joins a select few programs in the country across all NCAA divisions to host a contest on a theater stage after seeing similar events put on by Division I Virginia Tech in 2015 and 2022 and Missouri in 2023, Division III Johnson & Wales and, most recently, Roanoke College have also displayed theater duals in their schedules.
"The Community Arts Center has hosted many premiere events featuring Jerry Seinfeld, Dancing with the Stars, and Impractical Jokers, to name a few, and we are grateful that wrestling can now be showcased on the historic stage for the first time." Chander said, "This is a unique opportunity for the student-athletes from both programs to gain exposure throughout the community and compete in an environment like this. It will be an exciting event and we are glad to have the opportunity to execute new ideas with great partners at the Community Arts Center."
Both Williamsport programs have been featured in multiple National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Top 25 polls this season and the two sides will square off for just the fourth time since the Wildcats became a full Division III program in 2017.
Four Penn College grapplers were recently featured in the latest NWCA Regional poll released on Feb. 9, headlined by junior
Noah Hunt, ranked third at 141 pounds in the Mideast Region. Freshmen
Kaden Ware (133),
Travis Green (165) and
TJ Martin (149) were also in the rankings at fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively. Fellow freshman 285-pounder
Nicholai Brotzman is also ranked among the NCAA's most dominant as he is top-10 in Division III falls list with 14 pins in 25:15, as of the NCAA's Jan. 31 release.
The Warriors are also headlined by four regionally ranked wrestlers in Kaden Majcher (125), Eli Crum (174), Gable Crebs (197) and Robbie West (285) in the Southeast Region.
Penn College enters the Feb. 17 showdown with an 8-9 dual meet record. Lycoming is 10-2 this season and riding a five-match win streak heading into the Billtown Brawl.
