CEDAR RAPIDS (IA) – Delaware Valley College is assured of a school record-tying five All-Americans while three have advanced to the semifinals with a chance at national titles following day one of competition at the 2010 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships.
Justin Barowski (165 pounds/Point Pleasant, NJ/Point Pleasant Beach), Kyle Bilquist (285 pounds/Toms River, NJ/Toms River North) and Jesse Harrington (157 pounds/New Providence, NJ/Bound Brook) each won both of their matches on Friday to advance to Saturday's semifinals. They have not only assured themselves of All-American accolades (top eight), but can still win individual national titles in their weight classes.
Terrance Clendenin (125 pounds/Toms River, NJ/Toms River North) and Martin Porter (197 pounds/Long Branch, NJ/Long Branch) are still alive in the consolation bracket and can place anywhere from third to eighth for their first All-American honors. The five All-Americans tie the mark that was set last year when the Aggies finished fifth in the team standings.
This year, Delaware Valley is back in the fifth position with 41.5 points, six behind Coe College (IA) for the final trophy spot. Coe has also five wrestlers remaining with two in the championship bracket and three in the consolation. Augsburg College (MN) leads the team standings with 69 points followed by University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse (56 points) and two-time defending champion Wartburg College (53.5 points).
Barowski, a senior, qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time in his career by winning the Midwest Regional crown, and he is making the most of his appearance. Unseeded in his bracket and drawing No. 1 Josh Terrell of Dubuque (21-5) in the opening round, Barowski stunned the crowd in Iowa by pinning Terrell 48 seconds into the third period. Terrell held a 4-2 lead at the time and went in for a shot. However, Barowski stepped over it, dropped Terrell and pinned him to the mat.
Things looked bleak again for Barowski in the quarterfinals as he trailed eighth-seeded Matt Curley of Heidelburg (26-4), 3-2 with just eight second remaining. On a restart, Barowski slipped by from a front headlock tie and ducked Curley with two seconds for a stunning takedown and a 4-3 victory.
Barowski will take his 25-5 record into Saturday's 165-pound semifinals where he will meet another unseeded wrestler in Vincent Renaut of Merchant Marine Academy (28-3). Renault has pulled off upsets of his own with two-point wins over the No. 4 and No. 5 wrestlers in the bracket. The bottom portion of the bracket features No. 3 Nick LeClere of Coe (30-3) and No. 7 Orlando Ponce of Augsburg (29-10).
The all-time victory leader in Delaware Valley history (128), Bilquist has reached the semifinals for the third straight season and will look for that elusive first trip to the finals on Saturday (he placed fifth in 2008 and fourth last year). The four-time national qualifier and number two seed at heavyweight opened with a 3-1 decision over Adam Salvers of Wilmington (23-3) to move into the quarterfinals against No. 7 Mitch Sander of Coe (26-4).
Bilquist and Sander battled for 11 minutes on the mat that included the seven-minute regulation, a pair of one-minute sudden death overtime periods and two sets of tiebreakers where each wrestler is in the down position for thirty seconds apiece and points can be attained in a non-sudden death format. The two were deadlocked at 9-9 after the second set of tiebreakers, but riding time is a factor in that period and Bilquist had 16 seconds in his favor and he picked up the victory.
Bilquist (29-3) will take on defending champion and third-seeded Dan Laurent of Wisconsin-LaCrosse (31-3) in the semis. The two met earlier in the season at the National Duals with Bilquist earning a win by decision. The top half of the bracket has No. 5 John Helgerson of Wartburg (28-5) against unseeded Jon Schmidt of Wisconsin-Whitewater (13-5).
Harrington reached the NCAAs as a freshman in 2008 but lost both of his matches. He then missed all of last season with an injury, but came back this year with a vengeance and grabbed the top seed at 157 for the championships. He advanced to the quarterfinals a 6-3 triumph over Dale Handley of Coe (14-13) and followed with a 3-1 victory over Matt Magill of New York University (25-11).
Harrington, who has won 24 of 28 matches this season, will meet fourth-seeded Luke Miller of Ohio Northern (37-4) in the semifinals. The lower half of the bracket features sixth-seeded Zack Mizer of Heidelburg (29-8) and seventh-seeded Adam Weber of Wartburg (28-7).
Clendenin, the fifth seed at 125, can place anywhere from third to eighth for his first All-American accolades. The senior and former Division I national qualifier at Lehigh University wasted no time in his opening match as he dropped Austin Moog of Buena Vista (32-9) in just 26 seconds. That set up a quarterfinal match-up with defending champion and No. 4 seed Jake Oster of Elmhurst (15-5) in the quarters.
Clendenin nearly pinned Oster in the second period, but the defending champion survived and the match entered final period with Clendenin holding a 5-4 advantage. It was tied at six and seemed headed for overtime when Oster notched a reversal at the buzzer for the 8-6 stunner.
However, Clendenin bounced back in the third round of consolations and he notched a takedown with just 10 seconds left to snap a 1-1 and eliminate second-seeded Mark Kist of Wartburg (19-5). Clendenin will take his 9-3 record into Saturday's consolation quarterfinals against unseeded Jayson Swanson of Luther (16-8).
Porter nearly pulled off the upset win in his first-ever match at nationals, but the senior dropped a 6-4 decision to No. 6 Bill Schindel of Mount Union (22-2). He had a bye in the first round of the 197-pound consolations and advanced to the consolation quarterfinals with a 7-4 triumph over fourth-seeded Troy Carlson of University of Chicago (33-6). Porter is now 31-8 on the season and will battle eighth-seeded Martino Sottile of Cortland (22-9) on Saturday.
Freshman Emmanuel Ajagbe (149 pounds/Bogota, NJ/Bogota) and junior Dan Daddino (174 pounds/Franklin Square, NY/Carey) were eliminated from the tournament on Friday.
Ajagbe made his national championship debut and held his No. 8 seed with a 4-2 decision over Kevin Sutherland of Rhode Island College (39-8). That put Ajagbe in the quarterfinals against top-seeded Blaine Woszczak of Ithaca (36-5) and he dropped a 10-5 decision to fall into the consolation bracket. He was then knocked out of the tournament with a 3-2 setback to unseeded Charlie Curran of Elmhurst (32-7). Ajagbe posted a 28-9 record and a Midwest Regional crown in his first collegiate season.
Daddino, a transfer from Nassau Community College, made his first trip to the Division III tournament and drew second-seeded Zach Molitor of Augsburg (27-3) in the preliminaries. He dropped a 5-0 decision and was then pinned in 5:38 by Chris Wade of Oneonta (17-5) to end his run. Daddino finished his first season with the Aggies with a 29-13 record and a Midwest Regional title.
Action resumes at 10:00 a.m. (CST) on Saturday as session three consists of the championship semifinals, the consolation quarterfinals and semifinals, and the placement matches (third-fourth, fifth-sixth, seventh-eight. The championship finals are slated to begin at 7:00 p.m. (CST).
NCAA DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIPS
TEAM STANDINGS (Top 10) – Through Day One
1. Augsburg (MN)… 69.0 points
2. Wisconsin-LaCrosse… 56.0 points
3. Wartburg (IA)… 53.5 points
4. Coe (IA)… 47.5 points
5. Delaware Valley… 41.5 points
6. Ithaca (NY)… 29.5 points
7. Luther (IA)… 20.5 points
8. Ohio Northern… 19.5 points
8. Concordia Moorhead… 19.5 points
10. Elmhurst (IL)… 17.5 points
HOW DELAWARE VALLEY COLLEGE WRESTLERS ARE FARING
Terrance Clendenin – 125 pounds – (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North) – Seeded 5th out of 17
Championship First Round: Won by fall over Austin Mogg (Buena Vista), 0:26
Championship Quarterfinals: Lost by decision to #4 Jake Oster (Elmhurst), 8-6
Consolation Third Round: Won by decision over #2 Mark Kist (Wartburg), 3-1
Consolation Quarterfinals (Saturday): vs Jayson Swanson (Luther)
Emmanuel Ajagbe – 149 pounds – (Bogota, NJ/Bogota) – Seeded 8th out of 18 Wrestlers
Championship First Round: Won by decision over Kevin Sutherland (Rhode Island College), 4-2
Championship Quarterfinals: Lost by decision to #1 Blaine Woszczak (Ithaca), 10-5
Consolation Third Round: Lost by decision to Charlie Curran (Elmhurst), 3-2
- Ajagbe, a freshman, has been eliminated from the tournament. He finished the year with a 28-9 record-
Jesse Harrington – 157 pounds – (New Providence, NJ/Bound Brook) – Seeded 1st out of 17
Championship First Round: Won by decision over Dale Handley (Coe), 6-3
Championship Quarterfinals: Won by decision over Matt Magill (NYU), 3-1
Championship Semifinals (Saturday): vs #4 Luke Miller (Ohio Northern)
Justin Barowski – 165 pounds – (Point Pleasant, NJ/Point Pleasant Beach) – Unseeded out of 17
Championship First Round: Won by fall over #1 Josh Terrell (Dubuque), 5:48
Championship Quarterfinals: Won by decision over #8 Matt Curley (Heidelberg), 4-3
Championship Semifinals (Saturday) vs Vincent Renaut (Merchant Marine Academy)
Dan Daddino – 174 pounds – (Franklin Square, NY/Carey) – Unseeded out of 17 Wrestlers
Championship Preliminary Round: Lost by decision to #2 Zach Molitor (Augsburg), 5-0
Consolation First Round: Lost by fall to Chris Wade (Oneonta State), 5:38
- Daddino, a junior transfer, has been eliminated from the tournament. He finished the year with a 29-11 record -
Martin Porter – 197 pounds – (Long Branch, NJ/Long Branch) – Unseeded out of 15 Wrestlers
Championship First Round: Lost by decision to #6 Bill Schindel (Mt. Union), 8-6
Consolation First Round: Bye
Consolation Second Round: Won by decision over #4 Tory Carlson (Univ. of Chicago), 7-4
Consolation Quarterfinals: vs #8 Martino Sottile (Cortland)
Kyle Bilquist – 285 pounds – (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North) – Seeded 2nd out of 14 Wrestlers
Championship First Round: Won by decision over Adam Salvers (Wilmington), 3-1
Championship Quarterfinals: Won by decision over #7 Mitch Sander (Coe), 9-9 TB2 RT
Championship Semifinals: vs #3 Dan Laurent (Wisconsin-LaCrosse)
