d3wrestle.com Rankings #7
d3wrestle.com Rankings #7 – January 10, 2012
NWCA Team Rankings #6 – January 10, 2012
NWCA Individual Rankings #6 – January 10, 2012
Video from the NWCA National Duals can be found on TheMat.tv.
Weekend Results
North/South Duals at Ursinus (coming soon)
Gettysburg Quad – W&J, W&L, Hunter
NY/PA Duals at Lycoming – RIT, King’s, Oswego
Maranatha Duals – UW-Oshkosh, Wheaton, MSOE, Lakeland, UW-Eau Claire
Wrestler of the Week Bebeto Yewah
The d3wrestle.com/WWSport.com Wrestler of the Week award makes its comeback this week, and the winner is Bebeto Yewah of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Yewah was the top Division III placewinner at the Midlands this year, finishing in 5th place in a tough 141 lb. weight class. Yewah was the 11th seed in the tournament. After a first round tech fall against a wrestler from Eastern Michigan, Yewah defeated the 6th seed Zach Neibert of Virginia Tech before falling in the quarterfinals to the now #1 ranked Kendric Maple of Oklahoma. In his next match, he defeated Steve Dutton of Lehigh, the #7 ranked DI wrestler at the time, by an 11-4 score. He followed that win up with a 15-3 win over the 10th seed Billy Ashnault of Rutgers. He lost his next match to Adam Krop of Princeton but rebounded with a win in the 5th place match over Luke Goettl, the Iowa State starter who had previously knocked off the #2 seed in the tournament.
The senior Yewah is a two time defending NCAA champion, winning a title in 2010 at 133 before moving up to 141 in 2011 and repeating the feat. He is now 17-2 on the year and has held the #1 ranking in both sets of rankings for the whole season. His career record stands at 75-7 as he looks to close out his career as a three time NCAA champion. The Eagles will be back in action tomorrow at Sunday at the NWCA National Duals in Springfield, Illinois, where they will be seeded 4th behind Wartburg, Augsburg, and Ithaca.
Holiday Tournament Results
Citrus Invitational Brackets | 2nd Chance Tournament
Congratualtions to DIII Midlands Placewinners Bebeto Yewah of UW-Lax, Joe Rau of Elmhurst, and Byron Tate of Wartburg. Wartburg graduate John Helgerson also placed. Yewah defeated the #21 and #7 wrestlers in DI, while Tate defeated #8. Helgerson, a 2011 graduate, defeated 2011 All-American Spencer Myers of Maryland.
Wilkes Open
The Wilkes Open took place yesterday and a pair of DIII wrestlers at Wilkes-Barre colleges came away as champions. Anthony Dattolo of Wilkes won at 149 while Mike Reilly of King’s won at 184. Both were 2011 NCAA All-Americans. Overall, seven DIII wrestlers placed in the top four representing Wilkes, King’s, and Messiah.
The 49th Midlands Championship also gets underway today at Northwestern. Click to go to the Midlands Website.
Recent Results
UW-Stevens Point 33, UW-Platteville 3
Mount St. Joseph 21, Heidelberg 19
Cornell 34, Augustana 6
Gator Duals (go to individual team sites for results)
Elmhurst, Luther, Loras, Delaware Valley, Waynesburg
Wrestler of the Week: Robbie Bidlingmaier
The d3wrestle.com/WWSport.com Wrestler of the Week is Robbie Bidlingmaier of Olivet. Bidlingmaier won the 125 lb. bracket at the North Central Invitational this past weekend, defeating the top two seeds along the way. After a pair of wins to reach the semifnals, Bidlingmaier defeated Sean Tomac of North Central with a first period fall, avenging a loss from earlier in the season. In the finals, he took on top seed and 2011 NCAA qualifier Ben Presler of Concordia Moorhead and won with his third fall of the day in 6:21.
Bidlingmaier, a sophomore from Chesterfield, Michigan, came into the week fresh off of a championship at the Ohio Northern Invitational. At that event, he also stopped the top two seeds including a win over returning All-American Alex Crown of Waynesburg. Bidlingmaier is now 15-3 on the season and is now ranked 7th in the latest d3wrestle.com Rankings. After wrestling last year at 133, his career record is now 28-11. With the team championship at the North Central Invitational, Olivet has moved into the top ten for the first time this season in the NWCA Rankings. Bidlingmaier and the Comets next take the mat Sunday at the Desert Duals in Las Vegas.
Weekend Results 12/9 – 12/11
Brockport 34, Lycoming 6 – Brockport Head Coach Don Murray’s 300th Career Win
Dick Walker Invitational
North Central Invitational
Dan Gable Open
St. Cloud Husky Open
Buena Vista Open
Long Island Open
Ohio Northern 30, Manchester 13
Thiel 33, Washington & Jefferson 9
Stevens 22, NYU 15
St. Olaf 24, Central 15
Cortland Tri (RIT & Messiah)
Duals in the Dells (UWW, Coe, St. Johns, UW-Lax)
Ithaca 35, Oswego 6
USM Tri (AIC, Bridgewater St.)
Wilkes Tri (York, Delaware Valley)
Johnson & Wales 28, Roger Williams 12
Williams Quad (WPI, Oneonta, JWU)
First Alma Home Match in 27 Years
The following is from the Alma College athletics web site commemorating the first home match in 27 years at Alma.
Scots Wrestling began new era on Wednesday after 27 years
The Alma College Wrestling team began a new era on Wednesday evening when they hosted Trine University in front of almost 500 people at Art Smith Arena. The team hosted their first home match in 27 years when Trine University came to town to compete in a dual event. Even though the Scots came out on the wrong end of a 23-19 final decision, it was a night that will be remembered for a long time.
“It was a very special evening and I was overwhelmed by the support we received in our first match,” said Alma Head Coach Todd Hibbs. “The community, parents, students and alumni were outstanding and it was actually quite emotional for me Our team is very grateful to the reaction we received this evening.”
Alma College brought wrestling back for the 2011-12 after a 27-year hiatus. The college has a wrestling legacy, with varsity teams competing through 1984. The 1980-81, 1981-82 and 1982-83 wrestling teams won consecutive league titles and are members of the Alma College Athletics Hall of Fame.
In the very first bout of the evening, Alma’s Fr. Collin Lesko (Tecumseh, Mich./Tecumseh) defeated Brandon Preston, 11-1, at 125 pounds. After two forfeits at 133 and 141, Alma led 16-0 heading into the 149-pound bout between Alma Fr. John Julian, Jr. (Howell, Mich./Hartland) and Forrest Romer. Julian wrestled well and had opportunities, but eventually fell 8-7 in a compelling match-up that would ultimately play into the final result.
The next match featured the Scots’ So. Matt Tuttle (Reading, Mich./Reading) against the #1 ranked 157-pound wrestler in the country, Elias Larson. Tuttle fought hard and was competitive but dropped a 11-3 decision.
After Trine won a couple more matches to take the lead, an exciting bout took place between Alma Sr. Conrad Bovee (Ithaca, Mich./Ithaca) and Max Begovich at 197 pounds. Bovee came out on top by a margin of 4-1, cuttting the Scots’ deficit to one.
The dual match ultimately came down to the heavyweights in the last bout of the evening. With Alma trailing 20-19 heading into the final, Alma Fr. Brock Neeson (Grand Rapids, Mich./Kenowa Hills) took on Trine’s Willie Henson. A close match throughout, Henson gained an advantage in the second period and Neeson could not close the gap, losing 5-1 and giving the Thunder the 23-19 final margin of victory.
“We showed a little bit of our youth tonight by not being able to close out an opponent when we have that opportunity,” said Hibbs. “We also had a pin against us that hurt, but for it to come down to the heavyweights in our first match at home is pretty exciting.”
Despite the final outcome on the scoreboard, it was a very special evening at Art Smith Arena. After 27 years away, wrestling is back and that is very exciting for the Alma College athletic family.
The Scots will next compete on Saturday at Tiffin University (Ohio) beginning at 1:00 p.m.
Wrestler of the Week: Chris Albright
The d3wrestle.com/WWSport.com Wrestler of the Week is Chris Albright of York. Making his season debut at the New Standard Invitational at York College, Albright won the 141 lb. weight class in impressive fashion. In the semifinals, he defeated Andrew Zobac of North Central, a returning NCAA qualifier who was ranked 5th by d3wrestle.com and 3rd by the NWCA prior to the match. Moving to the finals, he defeated defending NCAA 133 lb. champ Seth Ecker of Ithaca, the #2 ranked 141 in both sets of rankings.
Albright was the 5th place finisher in the 2011 NCAA Championships at 141 lbs., but he only made his debut this past weekend, as he was considering giving up the sport. In a York Dispatch article, his return to the team last week was explained. Last season, the Pitt transfer finished 34-3 to help the Spartans to a 15th place finish. His return came at a good time as he led the Spartans to a 3rd place finish at their invitational and should be in action this weekend as York takes on Delaware Valley and #11 Wilkes to wrap up the semester. For his efforts, he was ranked #2 in the latest d3wrestle.com Rankings.
