FEBRUARY 21, 2008

KING'S WRESTLERS SET FOR METROPOLITAN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS SUNDAY

WILKES-BARRE -- Ten King's College wrestlers will begin their quest to earn an NCAA Division III National Tournament berth when the Monarchs compete in the Metropolitan Wrestling Conference Championships Sunday, February 24, at Wilkes University.

Wrestling is set to begin at 10:00 a.m. with semi-finals slated for 12:00 noon and championship finals scheduled for 4:00 p.m. Tickets are $5.00 for adults and $2.00 for all students. Passes will not be accepted.

The Metropolitan Wrestling Conference Tournament web site is available at the following link. The site includes the event program, directions, and hotel accommodations. Complete brackets and results will also posted following the event. http://www.wilkes.edu/pages/2420.asp

The Metropolitan Championship serves as a qualifier for the upcoming NCAA Division III Championships that will be held at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on March 7 and March 8. The 10 individual weight class winners, along with seven at-large selections that will be chosen by the coaches, will represent the conference at the NCAA Championships.

The field of teams includes five squads currently ranked in the latest Brute-Adidas Division III National Coaches Poll. Teams that are slated to participate include No. 14 New York University, No. 17 The College of New Jersey, No. 23 Wilkes, No. 25 York College and No. 30 King’s College. Other teams competing include Centenary College, Elizabethtown College, Hunter College, the University of Scranton and Yeshiva College.

Last season The College of New Jersey claimed the team title with 89.5 points. York was second after totaling 83 points. King’s finished third with 75.5 points, followed by Hunter, Wilkes, NYU, Centenary and Scranton.

Nine individual wrestlers enter the event ranked in their respective weight classes. Among the ranked wrestlers are three individuals who will be out to defend their conference crowns, York’s Kyle Flickinger at 125 pounds, King’s Dave Morgan (Scranton/West Scranton), who won the NCAA Championship at 133 pounds a season ago, and The College of New Jersey’s Greg Osgoodby at 174 pounds.

Highlighting King's list of entrants is Morgan, a junior who looks to repeat as not only the Metropolitan champion, but also as the 133-pound national champion. Morgan is 22-1 on the year and 80-7 for his career at King's. He will look to repeat in the toughest weight class in the tournament as two other wrestlers at 133 are nationally ranked, including Centenary’s Mike Gummerson who is ranked eighth with a 27-4 mark, while Ray Sarinelli from The College of New Jersey is ranked ninth and sports a 25-4 record. Morgan owns two wins over Gummerson this season and a dual meet decision over Sarinelli.

King's freshman Mike Reilly (Mountain Top/Crestwood) looks to emerge as a contender at 174-pounds. Since transferring to King's from Division I Bloomsburg in late December, Reilly has been impressive in posting a 17-2 mark. Greg Osgoodby, the defending champion from TCNJ, is ranked sixth in Division III and has a 29-4 record overall. He and Reilly have not met this season. Another contender could be NYU’s Naum Shuminov (18-11) who caught Reilly with a headlock in the opening seconds of their match to register a sudden fall.

Junior Zach Wilkinson (White Haven/Crestwood) was third in the Metropolitan tourney at 184-pounds last season and hopes to emerge as a contender following a trying season in which he missed most of the season with an injury. Wilkinson is 4-3 on the year but the majority of his matches have come at 197-pounds. He hopes to challenge Nick Coleman from NYU was second last season and is currently ranked seventh nationally with a 27-5 record.

Sophomore Taylor Green (Montgomery, MD/River Dell) was fourth a year ago and sports a 9-7 record at 157 after missing the first semester with a knee injury. NYU’s Takafumi Hashimoto and York’s John Niedrich could be on a collision course to meet in the final. Takafumi Hashimoto of NYU is ranked seventh in the nation with a 21-3 record, while John Niedrich of York stands 10th in Division III with a record of 22-3. Dan Dicolo of The College of New Jersey is another highly-regarded wrestler with a 28-7 record.

Monarch sophomore Tony Miele (Mt. Ephraim, NJ/Audubon) was third at the Metropolitan tourney a year ago and enters the event with a 15-16 mark at 141-pounds. NYU’s Steve Hult is 24-5 overall this season and is ranked fourth in Division III. Centenary’s Jon Stillo (25-10) and York’s Ryan Catton (18-9) also stand as top contenders.

In the 197-pound weight class, King's junior Zach Martinez (Hanover Twp./Hanover Area) moves up after compiling a solid 14-11 record at 184. He will face stiff competition in the form of Wilkes’ Zach Pizarro who is 25-8 record with a 7-0 record against conference opponents. York’s Hank Conklin (18-12), Shawn Vanwingerden (18-5) of TCNJ, and Hunter’s Brian Scher will also look to claim the conference title.

At 285, King's senior Justin Bender (Williamstown/Williams Valley) is 8-4 after missing much of the season with an injury. He will compete in a competitive weight class headed by York’s Luke Panizzi (26-5) who is 6-0 against conference foes this year. Andrew Feldman (15-9) from Wilkes and Steve Carbone (24-8) from The College of New Jersey join Bender as heavyweights looking to challenge Panizzi.

King's freshman Ricky Dorsey (Salisbury, MD/James M. Bennett) take a 10-11 record into a 125-pound weight class that features several top competitors. York's Kyle Flickinger is 26-6 and ranked 10th in the nation this season. Wilkes’ Shaun Farnham (31-15) will also figure into the mix after splitting a pair of matches with Flickinger this season. NYU’s Kyle Christensen (23-13) and Hunter’s Evan Velez are among the other wrestlers expected to compete for the title.

At 149-pounds, Monarch sophomore Frankie Davis (Madison, NJ/Madison) has posted a 13-20 record on the year and could contend in a wide-open weight class. Elizabethtown’s Bud Croswell (18-6), John Barnett (23-9) from The College of New Jersey, Wilkes’ Erik Smith (27-10) and NYU’s Matt Magill (19-16) are also expected to figure into the mix. Davis owns a win over Magill and dropped a narrow 3-0 decision to Smith last week. He fell to Croswell but has not faced Barnett.

In the 165-pound weight class King's undersized Ryan Trees (Kensington, MD/St. Johns College) will look to play the role of spoiler after being thrust into the weight class midway through the season due to necessity. Trees (0-13) will compete in another quality weight class headed by either Justin Bonitatis (31-4) or Al Wonesh (29-5) of TCNJ as one of the Lion standouts will be in the weight class. Wilkes’ Frank Heffernan (29-9) and York’s Brian Alwine (20-11) are among the top challengers for the title.

Following the competition, the coaches will meet to vote on the seven wild-card selections who will join the 10 individual champions at the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
 

Schedule of Events
10:00 a.m. - Preliminary/Quarterfinal Bouts
12:00 p.m. - Semi-Finals/Consolation First Round
2:00 p.m. - Consolation Semi-Finals
4:00 p.m. - Finals/Consolation Finals

* True second place matches will be held following the awards ceremony

Ticket Prices
$5.00 - Adults
$2.00 - Students/Senior Citizen's

* No athletic passes or student ID's of any kind will be accepted.

 

King's College
133 North River Street  Wilkes-Barre, PA  18711
1 (888) KINGS PA

Questions or comments to:  Bob Ziadie, King's College Sports Information Director
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