FEBRUARY 27, 2007

MORGAN, REILLY SET FOR DIVISION III NATIONALS

DUBUQUE, IOWA -- Two King's College wrestlers have their sights set on a national championship when the NCAA Division III National Tournament takes place Friday and Saturday at Loras College, Dubuque, IA.

Competing for King's will be junior David Morgan at 133-pounds and senior Jason Reilly at 197. Both wrestlers earned berths into the national event nearly two weeks ago by capturing individual weight class titles at the Metropolitan Conference Championships February 18 at The College of New Jersey.

Morgan (left) will be making his second straight trip to nationals and looks to improve on his sixth-place all-American finish a year ago. Morgan enters the national event with a 32-2 record and is currently the top-ranked wrestler nationally according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Poll.

Morgan has enjoyed a stellar season as the Monarch standout has defeated five wrestlers who have qualified for nationals, including four grapplers currently ranked in the top-six of his weight class. National qualifiers Morgan has defeated this season include Sean Cullen (Lycoming), Billy Hall (Muhlenberg), Jacob Helvey (Wartburg), Justin Hulegaard (Buena Vista), and Ray Sarinelli (The College of New Jersey. Morgan owns pins over third-ranked Helvey and fourth-ranked Hulegaard, while posting a pair of decisions over sixth-ranked Sarinelli.

He also owns a decision over eighth-ranked Cullen and also defeated the Lycoming senior twice last year. Morgan, however, did drop a 3-1 overtime decision to eventual national runner-up Jafari Vanier of Augsburg in a first-round national matchup last season. Vanier is currently ranked second behind Morgan in the NWCA poll.

Reilly, meanwhile, is making his first trip to nationals after coming painfully close the last two seasons. As a sophomore and junior, Reilly (right) competed in a loaded 197-pound weight class in the Middle Atlantic Conference Championships, placing third each of the last two seasons. As a sophomore, Reilly fell in the semi-finals to eventual 2005 national runner-up Jamal Johnson of Delaware Valley. Last season he lost to eventual national third-place finisher Brandon Kelly of Wilkes, also in the semi-finals, while Johnson went on to win the 2006 national championship at 197.

When the MAC elected to disband wrestling, King's joined the Metropolitan Conference. Reilly walked through the competition, registering three first-period pins to earn his first trip to nationals.

Reilly has met three top-five wrestlers this season, going 0-3. After suffering an ankle injury in early December, a recovering Reilly fell to two of the top wrestlers in the nation at the Las Vegas Duals on December 19. He lost by fall to top-ranked Blake Gillis of Wartburg and was pinned while leading fifth-ranked Ben Strandberg of Buena Vista 5-3 with just 0:20 left in the match. Reilly also dropped a 7-3 decision to third-ranked Matt Loesch, a wrestler he has defeated on three occasions during his career, including a first-period fall last season.

"Both David and Jason and wrestling extremely well right now and are very confident in their abilities," King's coach Ned McGinley stated. "David has been there before so he will be very relaxed. He will be a marked man, however, being the top-ranked at 133, so he will have everyone gunning for him. Jason has had to deal with some ankle and shoulder problems this year and probably should have had a better year, but right now he is ready to go and I think he is someone who can challenge any of the top guys out there."

2007 Division III National Tournament Official Website:

http://depts.loras.edu/sports/2007ncaawrestling/index.html

Division III National Rankings - National Wrestling Coaches Association

133 lbs.
1. David Morgan Jr. King's College
2. Jafari Vanier Jr. Augsburg College
3. Jacob Helvey Jr. Wartburg College
4. Justin Hulegaard Sr. Buena Vista University
5. Adam Johnson Jr. North Central College
6. Ray Sarinelli Jr. College of New Jersey
7. Nick Nothern Fr. Cornell College
8. Sean Cullen Sr. Lycoming College
 

197 lbs.
1. T.J. Miller Jr. Wartburg College
2. Alex Bonander So. Luther College
3. Matt Loesch Sr. Muhlenberg College
4. Phil Archer Jr. Cortland State
5. Ben Strandberg Sr. Buena Vista University
6. Tyler Wozniak Sr. UW Stevens Point
7. Mike Schmidt Jr. UW Whitewater
8. Jim Swanson Sr. UW LaCrosse

*Note:  Ranking does not guarantee seed.

 

 

 

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