LHU Wrestling third at EWL
Three Bald Eagles Advance to Nationals
CLEVELAND – The Lock Haven University wrestling team finished third at the 2014 Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) Championship and three Bald Eagles punched their tickets to the NCAA Championship.
Redshirt-sophomore Dan Neff (Quarryville, Pa./Solanco), redshirt-junior Fred Garcia (Donora, Pa./Ringgold) and seniorMac Maldarelli (Merrick, N.Y./Nassau C.C.) all booked trips to the 2014 NCAA Division I Championship by way of their strong individual showings.
Saturday’s third-place finish is the highest Lock Haven finish since the Bald Eagles took third in 2007.
Both Neff and Garcia finished second at 141 and 184, respectively, to earn return trips to the NCAA Tournament.
No. 25 Neff and No. 27 Garcia each finished the tournament 2-1.
Neff lost to No. 1 Mitchell Port of Edinboro 12-2 in the finals. Neff picked up a pair decisions on the way to the title bout.
Garcia won 9-4 and 6-5 (2OT) on the way to his final bout with Edinboro’s Victor Avery, No. 16. Avery won 8-2
Maldarelli was 3-1 overall and finished third at 149 to qualify for his first NCAA trip as a Bald Eagle.
Redshirt-sophomore Phil Sprenkle (Seven Valleys, Pa./Dallastown) took second at 197 after going 1-1 on the day.
Redshirt-freshman Kaleb LeMaire (Rehoboth Beach, Del./Caesar Rodney), redshirt-junior Elias Biddle (Turbotville, Pa./Warrior Run) and senior Jake Kemerer (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) all finished fourth for LHU.
Redshirt-sophomore Cody Wheeler (Towanda, Pa./Towanda) placed fifth at 133 and freshman Adam Mackie (Bechtelsville, Pa./Brandywine Heights) was sixth at 174.
Freshman Brad Emerick (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Coughlin) was 0-2 on the day at 285.
Edinboro took home the team title with 140.5 points, while Bloomsburg was second with 113. The Bald Eagles racked up 87.5 points for third, edging out EWL-newcomer Rider (80).
The 2014 NCAA Division I Championship is scheduled for Thursday through Friday, March 20-22 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.
Full EWL Results/Brackets:
FINAL Team Scoring:
1. Edinboro 140.5
2. Bloomsburg 133
3. Lock Haven 87.5
4. Rider 80
5. Cleveland State 74.5
6. Clarion 69.5
7. George Mason 43.5
FINALS Bout-by-Bout Results:
125: #13 Robert Deutsch (Rider) dec. #19 Kory Mines (Edinboro) 2-1
133: #2 A.J. Schopp (Edinboro) tech fall #22 Nick Wilcox (Bloomsburg) 16-0 (5:00)
141: #1 Mitchell Port (Edinboro) major dec. Dan Neff (Lock Haven) 12-2
149: #14 David Habat (Edinboro) dec. #20 Bryce Busler (Bloomsburg) 6-0
157: #23 Austin Matthews (Clarion) dec. #15 Johnny Greisheimer (Edinboro) 9-5
165: #29 Ramon Santiago (Rider) dec. #18 Josh Veltre (Bloomsburg) 2-1
174: #30 Connor Brennan (Rider) dec. Mike Dessino (Bloomsburg)
184: #16 Victory Avery (Edinboro) dec. #27 Fred Garcia (Lock Haven) 8-2
197: #6 Richard Perry (Bloomsburg) pinned Phil Sprenkle (Lock Haven) 4:47
285: #13 Ernest James (Edinboro) dec. #14 Justin Grant (Bloomsburg) 3-1
