LHU’s Ronnie Perry Advances to NCAA semifinals, Earns All-American honors
CLEVELAND – Ronnie Perry (Christiana, Pa./Solanco) of the Lock Haven University wrestling team solidified All-American honors after booking a trip to the NCAA semifinals, leading the way for the Bald Eagles during an action-packed Session 3 at the 2018 NCAA Division I Championships this morning in Cleveland.
In front of 18,680 fans that jammed into the Quicken Loans Arena this morning, Perry continued his remarkable run through the 149-pound bracket. The redshirt-senior, who is making his third NCAA tournament appearance, took down former NCAA champion Jason Tsirtsis of Arizona State in the quarterfinals. Perry, the No. 15 seed, downed Tsirtsis, the No. 10 seed, 7-4. Perry scored a takedown in each period on the way to the dominating win.
Yesterday, Perry went 2-0 to earn his spot in this morning’s quarterfinal. Perry opened this NCAA tournament yesterday with an 11-3 major decision over Cortlandt Schuyler of Lehigh, before taking down the No. 2 seed and three-time All-American Brandon Sorensen of Iowa in the Round of 16.
In the semifinals tonight, Perry will lock up with No. 11 seed Matthew Kolodzik of Princeton.
In the 165-pound quarterfinals, redshirt-junior Chance Marsteller (New Park, Pa./Kennard-Dale) suffered his first loss of the tournament as he fell to top-seed and three-time NCAA finalist Isaiah Martinez of Illinois. Martinez won 10-1 (major dec.).
Yesterday, Marsteller was 2-0 with wins over Bryce Martin (Indiana), 9-1 (major dec.) and Brown’s Jonathan Viruet, 5-3.
Marsteller will drop down in the consolation round tonight, needing one more win to become an All-American. Tonight in the Round of 12, Marsteller has drawn No. 6 seed Richie Lewis of Rutgers.
In the consolation round two today, Corey Hazel (Spring Mills, Pa./Penns Valley) fell to Navy’s Michael Coleman, 17-5 (major dec.). The loss – Hazel’s second of the tournament – ended his NCAA championship debut. Hazel finished 1-2 after opening action yesterday with an upset of the No. 12 seed at 184 pounds. A narrow 11-10 loss to the No. 5 seed in last night’s Round of 16 dropped Hazel into this morning’s consolation round. Hazel, a redshirt-sophomore, finished the season at 24-10 and he’s now 50-22 for his career.
Redshirt-junior Thomas Haines (Quarryville, Pa./Solanco) opened Session 3 with a hard-fought 10-6 win over Pittsburgh’s Ryan Solomon. The win for Haines – the No. 15 seed at 285 – in consolation round two action helped him advance to a second match in today’s Session 3 where he locked up with No. 10 seed Jordan Wood of Lehigh. Haines fell to Wood, 3-1 in a tightly-contested, but exciting bout. With the loss, Haines – who was making his second straight trip to the NCAA tournament – was eliminated after going 2-2. He’s now 4-4 all-time at the NCAA championships. Haines finished the season at 20-7 and he’s now 68-16 for his career.
Tonight’s Session 4 is set for an 8 p.m. start and will broadcast live on ESPN.
LHU match-by-match
149: #15 Ronnie Perry
First Round vs. Cortlandt Schuyler (Lehigh) W, 11-3 major dec.
Second Round vs. #2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) W, 3-2 dec.
Quarterfinals vs. #10 Jason Tsirtsis (Arizona State) W, 7-4
165: #9 Chance Marsteller
First Round vs. Bryce Martin (Indiana) W, 9-1 major dec.
Second Round vs. Jonathan Viruet (Brown) W, 5-3 dec.
Quarterfinals vs. #1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) L, 10-1 major dec.
184: Corey Hazel
First Round vs. #12 Bryce Carr (Chattanooga) W, 6-3 (TB-1)
Second Round vs. #5 Domenic Abounader (Michigan) L, 11-10 dec.
Consolation Round 2 vs. Michael Coleman (Navy) L, 17-5 major dec.
285: #15 Thomas Haines
First Round vs. Conan Jennings (Northwestern) W, 7-2 dec.
Second Round vs. #2 Adam Coon (Michigan) L, pinned 1:47
Consolation Round 2 vs. Ryan Solomon (Pittsburgh) W, 10-6
Consolation Round 3 vs. Jordan Wood (Lehigh) L, 3-1 dec.
# = seed for NCAA tournament
