LHU’s Perry Advances to NCAA finals, Marsteller an All-American

AdminMarch 16, 2018Last Updated: March 16, 2018

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CLEVELAND – Ronnie Perry’s (Christiana, Pa./Solanco) remarkable run continued as he advanced to tomorrow’s NCAA finals at 149 pounds and Chance Marsteller (New Park, Pa./Kennard-Dale) solidified All-American status as the Lock Haven University wrestling team continued to make noise on the national scene at the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships tonight in front of another sold-out crowd at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

With his spot in the finals, Perry became the first No. 15 seed to ever make the NCAA finals, and he’s Lock Haven’s first finalist since Cary Kolat in 1997.

Marsteller became LHU’s 41^st all-time All-American.Perry and Marsteller’s All-American honors mark the first time LHU has had two All-Americans at the same national tournament since 2002.

Perry’s NCAA semifinal appearance tonight marked the first for a Lock Haven wrestler since 1997 when Cary Kolat won the semifinals on the way to a national title. In the semifinals, Perry upended No. 11 seed Matthew Kolodzik of Princeton. Perry and Kolodzik were tied 3-3 late in the third, but Perry earned a takedown as time ran down, and secured the victory and his spot in the finals. Perry has won three straight bouts over returning All-Americans to on the way to the finals.

In tomorrow night’s finals, Perry will take on Penn State’s two-time NCAA Champions Zain Retherford, the top-seed.

Earlier today when Perry won the quarterfinals, it clinched All-American status. He became the Bald Eagles 40^th All-American in school history.

Needing a win to advance and secure All-American honors, Marsteller knocked off No. 6 seed Richie Lewis of Rutgers, 4-2. A third-period takedown proved to be the difference for Marsteller, who his making his NCAA tournament debut. In his second match of tonight’s session, Marsteller downed Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State), 9-7. The win over Rogers moved Marsteller into the consolation semifinals tomorrow morning.

Heading into tomorrow’s action, Perry is 4-0 at the NCAA tournament. A three-time NCAA qualifier, Perry is now 5-4 all-time at the NCAA championships. He’s now 32-3 on the season and 104-31 in his career. Dating back to the Southern Scuffle on January 1, Perry has won 18 consecutive matches.

Marsteller is 4-1 so far in the tournament. He’s now 43-3 on the season. His 43 wins tied a single-season school record.

Tonight’s Session 4 attendance was 18,680. The NCAA Championships continue tomorrow (Saturday, March 17) with Session 5 at 11 a.m. Marsteller will be in action in Session 5 at 11 a.m. (ESPNU/ESPN3). Already an All-American, Marsteller has cemented a top-six finish and he can still finish as high as third. The championship final round is set for an 8 p.m. start tomorrow night. The finals will air live on ESPN2 and ESPN3.

Lock Haven is 16^th in the team standings with 31.5 points.

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

Semifinals vs. #11 Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton) W, 5-3 dec.

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.

Round of 12 – Consolation, Round 4 vs. #6 Richie Lewis (Rutgers) W, 4-2 dec.