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JANUARY 20, 2002
BOB ZIADIE
KING'S GRAPPLERS FINISH FOURTH AT CLIFF KEEN/NWCA
NATIONAL DUALS
COLUMBUS, OH -- The King's College wrestling team
concluded a stellar weekend
at the 16-team Cliff Keen/National Wrestling Coaches Association
National Duals at Ohio State University
with a fourth-place finish.
After winning its first two matches Saturday, the
Monarchs dropped a 36-6 decision
in the semi-finals to top-ranked Augsburg College. King's defeated
seventh-ranked Upper Iowa 25-15 in the
consolation semi-finals, before falling
24-16 to third-ranked Wisconsin-Lacrosse.
In the championship match, Augsburg defeated
second-ranked Wartburg 29-10 to
win the National Duals title.
Springfield placed fifth in the event with a 19-17
win over Upper Iowa, while Buena Vista beat Luther 27-15 for seventh
place.
Against Augsburg, the Monarchs faced the premier
wrestling squad in Division III
as the two-time defending national champions field a star-studded lineup
with nine of their 10 grapplers ranked
among the top eight in their weight classes
nationally. In fact, eight Auggie grapplers are ranked third or
higher.
At 125, King's Mitch Marcks, ranked eighth
nationally dropped a 4-0 decision to
top-ranked Darin Betram. In the next bout at 133, top-rated John
Marchette defeated Mike Griffith by a
19-2 technical fall. At 141, third-ranked
Brad Fisher gained a 10-0 major decision over Tim Martinez.
Jim Morgan
got the Monarchs on the board at 149 when he upset third-tanked James
Tidwell 3-2. King's cut the Augsburg
lead to 12-6 when Monarch standout Dave
Shafer posted an 8-4 decision over
seventh ranked Jeremy Jirele.
But the Auggies would seep the final five bouts to
secure the win. At 165, second
ranked Tony Abbot pinned Jesse Martinez in 4:10. Top-ranked Nick
Slack then
pinned King's freshman standout Joe Arnone in just 0:31. Monarch
all-American Jason Schlingman, ranked
fifth nationally, then dropped a 6-4 decision
to third-ranked Ricky Crone. After second-ranked Kevin Rasmussen
picked up a forfeit win at 197, Scott
Revier earned a 4-0 decision over Lee Vodofsky.
Against Upper Iowa, King's got off to a quick start
when Marcks earned a 7-5 decision
at 125 before Griffith posted a pin at 133 to put the Monarchs
ahead 9-0.
After King's Tim Martinez dropped a 6-5 decision at 141, Morgan gained
a 12-5
win at 149 to push the lead to 12-3. At 157, Shafer came up big with a
15-2 major decision to extend Kingšs
lead to 16-3.
Kingšs Jesse Martinez dropped
an 11-4 decision at 165, but Arnone won an important 3-1 verdict at
174 to give Kingšs a 19-6 advantage. At
184, Schlingman dropped a 9-5 decision
but McKee sealed the win for the Monarchs win a pin at 197 over
Cliff Thompson, the nation's top-ranked wrestler at that weight, to give
the Monarchs an insurmountable 25-9
advantage.
In the
consolation finals against Wisconsin-Lacrosse, Marcks improved to
24-2 on
the year with a 15-6 major decision. Lacrosse earned a decision and
technical fall over the next two bouts
to go ahead 8-4, before Morgan gained a
7-5 decision while improving to 17-3. Shafer improved to 23-1 with a pin
at 3:47 to give the Monarchs a 13-8
advantage. Lacrosse, however, would go on
to win four of the last five matches to
put the match away. McKee would post
a 9-4 decision at 197 to bring King's
within 20-16 heading into the final out,
but Jared Potsko fell by an 11-2 major decision Jason Ott, the top-ranked
heavyweight in Division III.
"We went out there with the goal of placing in
the top four and we were able to
reach that goal so I am very proud of the guys and what they
accomplished," King's coach Ned
McGinley stated. "An event of this magnitude
was unchartered waters for our program but we more than held our
own against the best Division III
programs in the nation. The experience the
guys gained from this tournament will go
long way in helping prepare for the MAC
tournament and Division III national championships."
Overall, Morgan and Shafer were outstanding at the
event as each wrestler went
5-0 in the competition while Marcks finished with a 3-2 mark.
King's will make its first home dual meet appearance
of the season Tuesday when
the Monarchs host Muhlenberg College at 7:00 p.m. in Scandlon
Gymnasium.
Augsburg 36 - King's 6 (Semi-Finals)
125 - Darin Bertam (A) dec. Mitch Marcks, 4-0
133 - John Marchette (A) tech fall Mike Griffith, 19-2
141 - Brad Fisher (A) maj. dec. Tim Martinez, 10-0
149 - Jim Morgan (K) dec. Jamell Tidwell, 3-2
157 - Dave Shafer (K) dec. Jeremy Jirele, 8-4
165 - Tony Abbott (A) pinned Jesse Martinez, 4:10
174 - Nick Slack (A) pinned Joe Arnone, 0:31
184 - Ricky Crone (A) dec. Jason Schlingman, 6-4
197 - Kevin Rasmussen (A) won by forfeit
285 - Scott Revier (A) dec. Lee Vodofsky, 4-0
King's 25 - Upper Iowa 15 (Consolation
Semi-Finals)
125 - Mitch Marcks (K) dec. Angelo Rodriguez, 7-5
133 - Mike Griffith (K) pinned Ralph Acosta, 4:39
141 - Jesus Wilson (UI) dec. Tim Martinez, 6-5
149 - Jim Morgan (K) dec. Aaron Destival, 12-5
157 - Dave Shafer (K) maj. dec. Andy Gerrts, 15-2
165 - Jorge Borgen (UI) dec. Jesse Martinez, 11-4
174 - Joe Arnone (K) dec. James Giboo, 3-1
184 - Brent Meyers (UI) dec. Jason Schlingman, 9-5
197 - Tegan McKee (K) pinned Cliff Thompson, 4:11
285 - Brian Black (UI) pinned Lee Vodofsky, 4:16
Wisconsin-LaCrosse 24 - King's 16
(Consolation Finals/3rd-4th place)
125 - Mitch Marcks (K) maj. dec. Nick Meuller, 15-6
133 - Josh Habeck (WL) tech fall Mike Griffith, 21-5
141 - Brady Cudd (WL) dec. Tim Martinez, 7-2
149 - Jim Morgan (K) dec. Troy Fabry, 7-5
157 - Dave Shafer (K) pinned Matt Zwachka, 3:47
165 - Nick Patenaude (WL) dec. Jesse Martinez, 7-2
174 - Paul Schloesser (WL) dec. Joe Arnone, 11-5
184 - Rob Rodriquez (WL) pinned Jason Schlingman, 3:51
197 - Tegan McKee (K) dec. Mike Matiash, 9-4
285 - Jason Ott (WL) maj. dec. Jared Potsko, 11-2
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