Community Arts Center to showcase Penn College Wrestling Dual vs. Lycoming

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.

The event – set up by Wildcats head coach Pankil Chander – is the first of its kind in central Pennsylvania as Penn College joins a select few programs across all NCAA divisions to host a contest on a theater stage. Chander pursued the idea 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. The Wildcats are matched up against their second-straight top 25 dual team as the Warriors enter the Saturday matchup at No. 25.

Four Penn College grapplers were featured in the latest NWCA Regional poll, released on Jan. 26, headlined by junior Noah Hunt, ranked fourth at 141 pounds in the Mideast Region. Freshmen Kaden Ware (133), TJ Martin (149) and Travis Green (165) were also in the rankings at sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively. Fellow freshman 285-pounder Nicholai Brotzman is also ranked among the NCAA's most dominant as he is on the 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 and will be competing in the AMCC Championships this Saturday (Feb. 10), before taking on the Warriors. Lycoming is 10-2 this season and riding a five-match win streak heading into the Billtown Brawl.