LHU’s Neff Into Consolation Round Four at Nationals
ST. LOUIS – Redshirt-junior Dan Neff (Quarryville, Pa./Solanco) of the Lock Haven University wrestling team went 2-0 during Session 3 today and will move on at the 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
Senior Fred Garcia (Donora, Pa./Ringgold) dropped his only bout of the day and was eliminated from the tournament.
This marks the third straight NCAA Championship appearance for both Neff and Garcia. Both guys went 1-1 yesterday on Day 1.
Neff picked up his second win of the tournament midway through Session 3, as he dominated Purdue’s Brandon Nelson. Neff took down Nelson four times, including twice in the third period on the way to a 10-2 major decision.
Neff turned in another strong outing in Session 3, picking up his second win of the session with a solid 5-2 victory over Colin Heffernan of Central Michigan. Neff and Heffernan were scoreless after one period, but a second-period takedown put Neff up 2-1. The two were again knotted after two periods – this time 2-2. Neff started the third down and quickly escaped for a second takedown of the match, and he made it 5-2.
Neff moved to 2-0 on the day and 3-1 for the tournament. He will return to action tonight during Session 4 (8 p.m. EST) vs. Ohio’s Tywan Claxton. Neff and Claxton met back in mid-November in a dual and Claxton won 5-4 (SV-2).
For his career, Neff is now 5-5 for his career at the NCAA Tournament. Neff moves to 24-13 on the season (81-32 career).
Garcia was eliminated from the tournament with a 9-3 loss to Missouri’s Willie Miklus. Garcia finished his senior season at 35-9 and caps his remarkable Haven career at 104-39. He’s just the 16th LHU wrestler to reach the 100-win club in his career. Garcia went 1-2 over the last two days and caps his career at 4-6 overall at the NCAA Championships.
Ronnie Perry (Christiana, Pa./Solanco) went 0-2 yesterday on Day 1 of the NCAA Championships and was eliminated from the tournament. The sophomore 133-pounder finished the season at 30-11 and is now 43-20 for his career.
