Pitt-Johnstown opened-up an early 3-0 lead, but 13^th-ranked Kutztown University stormed back to win seven of the final nine bouts to deal the Mountain Cats a 25-9 loss in Friday's 2014-15 PSAC-opener in Kutztown.  Pitt-Johnstown, which got an impressive win from red-shirt Tyler Reinhart over No. 7-ranked Bo Candelaria, slipped to 1-1 overall and 0-1 in the conference.
 
Evan Link got the Mountain Cats started with a 7-3 decision over Nicholas DeMarco at 125 lbs., but Kutztown answered with four straight wins to go in front 15-3.
 
The Golden Bears got on the board at 133 lbs. when Travis Roper got a third period takedown and quickly pinned Jim Harrison.  Matt Benvenuto followed with a takedown of Malachi Krenzelak with 30 seconds left and held on for a 3-2 victory, before Joe Esposito upset eighth-ranked Cole Landowski, 3-2, in the 141-lb. bout to give Kutztown a 12-3 advantage.
 
The Golden Bears extended it to 15-3 after Matt Martoccio battled back from a 3-0 second period deficit to defeat Steve Edwards, 6-5, at 157 lbs.
 
Pitt-Johnstown ended the run when Reinhart upset seventh-ranked Candelaria, 4-2 in sudden victory.  Reinhart held a 2-0 third period lead, but two stalling calls on Reinhart evened the match and forced overtime.  However, in the sudden victory, Reinhart got a two-point near fall to secure a 4-2 win.
 
A 3-2 win by John Blankenship over Brandon Wolfe at 174 lbs. got the Mountain Cats back to within six, but Andre Petroski scored an 11-6 decision over Adam Nickelson to increase the Kutztown lead to 18-9 with two bouts remaining.
 
Kutztown sealed the win with victories at 197 lbs. and 285 lbs.  At 197 lbs., Brandon Clark took down Nikos Garafola with a minute left in the third period and went on to a 4-3 win, and Ziad Haddad, the defending Division II National Champion and the top-ranked wrestler at 285 lbs., earned a 9-1 major decision over D.J. Sims to set the final at 25-9.
 
Kutztown improved to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the PSAC.
 
The Mountain Cats will make their 2014-15 home debut against East Stroudsburg University on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Sports Center, before traveling to the 2014 PSAC Championships at Bloomsburg University on December 6.
 
125 lbs.  Evan Link (UPJ)  Decision  Nicholas DeMarco (KU)  7-3  3-0 UPJ
133 lbs.  Travis Roper (KU)  Fall  Jim Harrison (UPJ)  6:17  6-3 KU 
141 lbs.  Matt Benvenuto (KU)  Decision  Malachi Krenzelak (UPJ)  3-2  9-3 KU
149 lbs.  Joe Esposito (KU)  Decision  #8 Cole Landowski (UPJ)  3-2  12-3 KU
157 lbs.  Matt Martoccio (KU)  Decision  Steve Edwards (UPJ)  6-5  15-3 KU
165 lbs.  Tyler Reinhart (UPJ)  Decision  #7 Bo Candelaria (KU)  4-2 SV  15-6 KU
174 lbs.  John Blankenship (UPJ)  Decision  Brandon Wolfe (KU)  3-2  15-9 KU
184 lbs.  Andre Petroski (KU)  Decision  Adam Nickelson (UPJ)  11-6  18-9 KU
197 lbs.  Brandon Clark (KU)  Decision  Nikos Garafola (UPJ)  4-3  21-9 KU
285 lbs.  #1 Ziad Haddad (KU)  Major Decision  D.J. Sims (UPJ)  9-1  25-9 KU