MARCH 6, 2008

MORGAN, REILLY SET FOR DIVISION III NATIONAL TOURNAMENT(Morgan Looks to Defend 133-pound National Title)

NCAA National Tournament Web Site:  
http://www.coe.edu/ncaawrestling/

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA -- They both came to King's College trying to fill the substantial shoes of highly successful older brothers.

One made a name of his own by winning the college's first-ever national championship, the other takes his next step toward hopefully reaching that same lofty status.

King's wrestling standouts David Morgan (Scranton/West Scranton) and Mike Reilly (Mountain Top/Crestwood) begin their quest for gold when the NCAA Division III National Wrestling Championships take place Friday and Saturday at U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Both wrestlers earned berths into the Division III national tournament by capturing individual weight class championships at the Metropolitan Conference Tournament on February 24. Morgan dominated the field as the top-seed, earning Metropolitan Conference Outstanding Wrestler Award honors. The fourth-seeded Reilly, meanwhile, downed the top two seeds at his weight class to register his first collegiate title while earning Metropolitan Conference "Rookie of the Year" honors.

Morgan, a junior, makes his third straight trip to the national tournament, one less than his older brother Jim who was a four-time NCAA qualifier at King's from 2001-04. Jim Morgan was a two-time Division III all-American, placing fourth at 149-pounds in 2002 and second at 141-pounds in 2003. He currently stands as the second all-time wrestler in King's history with 117 victories.

David has done his brother one better, placing 6th at 133-pounds in 2006, before becoming King's first national titlist in any sport with the 2007 championship at 133-pounds. He enters the 2008 event with a 25-1 record, his only loss coming by a 4-3 decision to Adam Johnson (45-2) of North Central College, who enters the event top-seeded at 133 and is a two-time all-American, placing third a year ago.

As a freshman, Reilly makes his first trip to the national event, a year after his older brother Jason wrapped up a successful career at King's by gaining all-American honors with a fourth-place NCAA finish at 197-pounds and finishing his time as a Monarch, ranking fourth all-time at King's with 109 wins.

Morgan will enter the event as the second seed and will receive a first-round bye in arguably the toughest weight class in the tournament. In the second round, Morgan will face the winner of the opening round matchup between seventh-seeded Ray Sarinelli (27-5) of the College of New Jersey and unseeded Zach Bartlett (13-12) of Luther College. Morgan has a 3-0 career mark against Sarinelli, posting victories in the championship match of the 2007 and 2008 Metropolitan Conference tournaments.

If Morgan advances to the semi-finals, he could face a matchup with third-seeded Travis Lang (34-2) of Augusburg College. Lang transferred to Augsburg from Division I University of Minnesota in January when he lost the starting job in a wrestle-off. Not including Lang, a total of five all-Americans return at 133, including Johnson, three-time all-American Jestin Hulegaard (Buena Vista), Jacob Helvey (Wartburg) and Jordan Kolinski (UW-La Crosse).

Since transferring to King's in December from Division I Bloomsburg University, Reilly has been outstanding, posting a 20-2 mark. He proved his mettle in the Metropolitan Tournament by posting a posting a 9-7 semi-final victory over top-seeded Greg Osgoodby of The College of New Jersey who was ranked sixth nationally in Division III at the time.

Reilly, who enters the tournament unseeded, will receive a first-round bye. In the second round he will face sixth-seeded Phil Moenkedick (31-4) of Concordia-Moorehead.

The top three finishers at last year’s meet are all back for another chance at a title. Defending national champion and three-time All-American Josh Chelf (UW-La Crosse) is the No. 1 seed, followed by last year’s third-place finisher Eric Bath (UW-Stevens Point) and 2007 runner-up Kyle Vanderhyde (Olivet).


NCAA National Tournament Web Site:  
http://www.coe.edu/ncaawrestling/

 

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