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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Add Matt Kyler’s name to the list of two-time EIWA Champions.
Kyler won his second EIWA Championship with a 5-3 win over Bucknell’s Kevin LeValley, Sunday at Stabler Arena.
A four-time EIWA finalist, Kyler captured his second championship and will wrestle for the fourth time at the NCAA Championships in two weeks.
Kyler and fellow senior Richard Starks both earned return trips to nationals following two days of wrestling at the EIWA Championships. The 2010 NCAA Championships are scheduled for March 18-20 at Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb.
Starks finished third and earned one of the allocated bids, the second straight year he has qualified for the national tournament.
Army finished tied with Columbia for eighth place in the 13-team event with six placewinners and 65 points.
Cornell won its fourth straight team championship, beating Pennsylvania and Lehigh.
In addition to Kyler and Starks, Collin Wittmeyer (fifth at 184), Orion Ross (seventh at 285), Travis Coffey (eighth at 133) and Casey Thome (eighth at 141) also earned a spot on the medal stand.
Kyler, ranked #10 in the latest Intermat poll, won Army’s 30th EIWA individual championships and avenged one of his three losses this season.
“Matt wrestled in a brutal weight class,” said Army head coach Chuck Barbee. “He prepared his whole career for this and came out and executed. He worked very hard for this and I was very proud of the way he wrestled.”
LeValley, the top-seeded wrestler at 149 pounds and ranked seventh nationally by Intermat, edged Kyler 8-6 in overtime during a dual in West Point, N.Y., Nov. 21.
This time it was Kyler coming out on top and becoming Army’s first two-time EIWA champion since Phillip Simpson won three straight titles from 2003-05.
Kyler scored his first takedown a minute into the match before LeValley escaped to make it 2-1. Kyler was in deep on a takedown attempt but was unable to finish the move before time expired.
LeValley chose down in the second period and escaped to tie the match at two. Kyler responded with another takedown before LeValley escaped again to make the score 4-3 in favor of Kyler.
Kyler chose down to start the final period and worked for his escape, finally getting the point with 16 seconds left for the victory and his second silver championship trophy.
Starks earned his second consecutive trip to the national tournament with a win in the consolation semifinals, assuring himself of at least a fourth-place finish by beating Joseph Kennedy of Lehigh.
Starks, with his head wrapped from an injury during an overtime loss in Saturday’s semifinals, scored a single-leg takedown two minutes into the first period. Kennedy escaped and Starks chose down in the second period. Starks quickly escaped to run his advantage to 3-1.
Kennedy chose the down position in the final period and escaped to get within a point but neither wrestler was able to score again and Starks took the 3-2 win.
A senior from Midway, Ky., Starks utilized three takedowns for his third-place finish with a 7-2 win against Danial Mitchell of American in the consolation finals.
Starks was in early on a single leg and jumped out to a 4-1 lead with a pair of takedowns in the first period. Starks battled his way to an escape point after starting the second period in the down position. Mitchell chose down to start the third period and escaped but Starks wrapped up the match with his final takedown and his third place finish at EIWA’s.
Starks came in fourth as a sophomore, second as a junior and now third and ran his career record at the EIWA Tournament to 9-4.
“Richard is the definition of intestinal fortitude,” said Barbee. “For him to come back after losing a match he dominated in the semifinals shows what kind of person he is. He showed a lot of fight and a lot of mental toughness, things you need to content for a national championship.”
Wittmeyer, who wrestled four matches on Saturday, fell into the fifth-place bout with a loss to David Craig of Lehigh, the No. 3 seed. Craig picked up a takedown and three back points for an early advantage.
Wittmeyer was the aggressor and was in on several takedown attempts but Craig collected the fall with one second left in the match.
A freshman from Platte City, Mo., Wittmeyer secured his fifth-place finish with a gusty effort in his second consolation match of the day. Facing Bucknell’s Robert Waltko, the #6 seed, Wittmeyer trailed 2-1 after a takedown and escape. Waltko escaped to open the second period before Wittmeyer tied the match with a minute to go in the second period with a takedown but Waltko escaped for a 4-3 lead.
Wittmeyer opened the third period in the down position but escaped 35 into the final period to knot the score. Wittmeyer put the finishing touches of his fifth-place with a takedown off of a cradle and had more than a minute of riding time for the 7-4 victory.
Ross, who wrestled just twice during the regular season, earned a seventh-place finish at 285 pounds with an overtime victory against Joseph McMullan of Bucknell.
A sophomore from St. Louis, Mo., Ross picked up a takedown and penalty point for a 3-0 first-period lead. Ross extended his advantage to 5-2 before McMullan picked up a takedown to get within one point.
Ross chose down to start the final period but McMullan collected the riding time and tied the match at five.
Neither wrestler scored during the first one minute neutral session, nor when both wrestlers were in the down position.
They went back to neutral a second time and Ross secured a takedown with 35 seconds left for the 7-5 win.
Coffey jumped out to a first-period lead in his seventh-place match at 133 pounds with a takedown after a scramble. Coffey won the toss and deferred at the start of the second period and Williams chose down. Williams scored a reversal and pinned Coffey with 11 seconds left in the period.
A sophomore, Coffey ends his season with a 19-12 record and moved to 22-20 in his career.
Thome wrestled four matches on Saturday and returned Sunday morning for his seventh-place bout against John Regan of Bucknell. Thome scored a single leg takedown in the first period and was in the top position to start the second period. Regan secured a reversal and earned the fall with 11 seconds remaining in the second period.
Thome, a junior, finished the season 25-9 and ran his career mark to 83-36.
106th EIWA Championships
Stabler Arena, Bethlehem, Pa.
Army Wrestlers
133 Travis Coffey
Saturday, March 6
pinned by Andrew Grabfelder, Columbia, 5:23
def. Jacob Bucha, Franklin & Marshall, 4-3
lost to Cortlandt Choate, Brown, 16-7
Sunday, March 7
SEVENTH-PLACE BOUT: pinned by Thomas Williams, American, 4:49
141 Casey Thome
Saturday, March 6
pinned Ryan Doyle, Columbia, 00:29
lost to Zack Kemmerer, Pennsylvania, 8-1
major dec. over Zachary Kulczycki, Brown, 16-3
lost to Matt Pagan, Navy, 4-1
Sunday, March 7
SEVENTH-PLACE BOUT: pinned by John Regan, Bucknell, 4:49
149 Matt Kyler
Saturday, March 6
def. Hicks Manson, Cornell, 5-3
def. Cesar Grajales, Pennsylvania, 9-4
Sunday, March 7
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS: def. Kevin LeValley, Bucknell, 5-3
184 Collin Wittmeyer
Saturday, March 6
pinned Jesse Boyden, Rutgers, 1:40
pinned by Cannon, American, 1:02
dec. over Kurt Brendel, Princeton, 4-0
pinned Andrew Buck, Navy, 4:57
Sunday, March 7
CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS: pinned by David Craig, Lehigh, 6:59
FIFTH-PLACE BOUT: def. Rob Waltko, Bucknell, 7-4
197 Richard Starks
Saturday, March 6
major dec. over Russell Kropp, Navy, 12-0
lost to Micha Burak, Pennsylvania, 8-5, tb2
Sunday, March 7
CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS: def. Joseph Kennedy, Lehigh, 3-2
THIRD-PLACE BOUT: def. Danial Mitchell, American, 7-2
285 Orion Ross
Saturday, March 6
lost to Kevin Lester, Columbia, 13-3
pinned Mingo Grant, American, 2:00
lost to Tyler Blakely, Pennsylvania, 12-5
Sunday, March 7
SEVENTH-PLACE BOUT: def. Joseph McMullan, 7-5, SV2
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Add Matt Kyler’s name to the list of two-time EIWA Champions.
Kyler won his second EIWA Championship with a 5-3 win over Bucknell’s Kevin LeValley, Sunday at Stabler Arena.
A four-time EIWA finalist, Kyler captured his second championship and will wrestle for the fourth time at the NCAA Championships in two weeks.
Kyler and fellow senior Richard Starks both earned return trips to nationals following two days of wrestling at the EIWA Championships. The 2010 NCAA Championships are scheduled for March 18-20 at Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb.
Starks finished third and earned one of the allocated bids, the second straight year he has qualified for the national tournament.
Army finished tied with Columbia for eighth place in the 13-team event with six placewinners and 65 points.
Cornell won its fourth straight team championship, beating Pennsylvania and Lehigh.
In addition to Kyler and Starks, Collin Wittmeyer (fifth at 184), Orion Ross (seventh at 285), Travis Coffey (eighth at 133) and Casey Thome (eighth at 141) also earned a spot on the medal stand.
Kyler, ranked #10 in the latest Intermat poll, won Army’s 30th EIWA individual championships and avenged one of his three losses this season.
“Matt wrestled in a brutal weight class,” said Army head coach Chuck Barbee. “He prepared his whole career for this and came out and executed. He worked very hard for this and I was very proud of the way he wrestled.”
LeValley, the top-seeded wrestler at 149 pounds and ranked seventh nationally by Intermat, edged Kyler 8-6 in overtime during a dual in West Point, N.Y., Nov. 21.
This time it was Kyler coming out on top and becoming Army’s first two-time EIWA champion since Phillip Simpson won three straight titles from 2003-05.
Kyler scored his first takedown a minute into the match before LeValley escaped to make it 2-1. Kyler was in deep on a takedown attempt but was unable to finish the move before time expired.
LeValley chose down in the second period and escaped to tie the match at two. Kyler responded with another takedown before LeValley escaped again to make the score 4-3 in favor of Kyler.
Kyler chose down to start the final period and worked for his escape, finally getting the point with 16 seconds left for the victory and his second silver championship trophy.
Starks earned his second consecutive trip to the national tournament with a win in the consolation semifinals, assuring himself of at least a fourth-place finish by beating Joseph Kennedy of Lehigh.
Starks, with his head wrapped from an injury during an overtime loss in Saturday’s semifinals, scored a single-leg takedown two minutes into the first period. Kennedy escaped and Starks chose down in the second period. Starks quickly escaped to run his advantage to 3-1.
Kennedy chose the down position in the final period and escaped to get within a point but neither wrestler was able to score again and Starks took the 3-2 win.
A senior from Midway, Ky., Starks utilized three takedowns for his third-place finish with a 7-2 win against Danial Mitchell of American in the consolation finals.
Starks was in early on a single leg and jumped out to a 4-1 lead with a pair of takedowns in the first period. Starks battled his way to an escape point after starting the second period in the down position. Mitchell chose down to start the third period and escaped but Starks wrapped up the match with his final takedown and his third place finish at EIWA’s.
Starks came in fourth as a sophomore, second as a junior and now third and ran his career record at the EIWA Tournament to 9-4.
“Richard is the definition of intestinal fortitude,” said Barbee. “For him to come back after losing a match he dominated in the semifinals shows what kind of person he is. He showed a lot of fight and a lot of mental toughness, things you need to content for a national championship.”
Wittmeyer, who wrestled four matches on Saturday, fell into the fifth-place bout with a loss to David Craig of Lehigh, the No. 3 seed. Craig picked up a takedown and three back points for an early advantage.
Wittmeyer was the aggressor and was in on several takedown attempts but Craig collected the fall with one second left in the match.
A freshman from Platte City, Mo., Wittmeyer secured his fifth-place finish with a gusty effort in his second consolation match of the day. Facing Bucknell’s Robert Waltko, the #6 seed, Wittmeyer trailed 2-1 after a takedown and escape. Waltko escaped to open the second period before Wittmeyer tied the match with a minute to go in the second period with a takedown but Waltko escaped for a 4-3 lead.
Wittmeyer opened the third period in the down position but escaped 35 into the final period to knot the score. Wittmeyer put the finishing touches of his fifth-place with a takedown off of a cradle and had more than a minute of riding time for the 7-4 victory.
Ross, who wrestled just twice during the regular season, earned a seventh-place finish at 285 pounds with an overtime victory against Joseph McMullan of Bucknell.
A sophomore from St. Louis, Mo., Ross picked up a takedown and penalty point for a 3-0 first-period lead. Ross extended his advantage to 5-2 before McMullan picked up a takedown to get within one point.
Ross chose down to start the final period but McMullan collected the riding time and tied the match at five.
Neither wrestler scored during the first one minute neutral session, nor when both wrestlers were in the down position.
They went back to neutral a second time and Ross secured a takedown with 35 seconds left for the 7-5 win.
Coffey jumped out to a first-period lead in his seventh-place match at 133 pounds with a takedown after a scramble. Coffey won the toss and deferred at the start of the second period and Williams chose down. Williams scored a reversal and pinned Coffey with 11 seconds left in the period.
A sophomore, Coffey ends his season with a 19-12 record and moved to 22-20 in his career.
Thome wrestled four matches on Saturday and returned Sunday morning for his seventh-place bout against John Regan of Bucknell. Thome scored a single leg takedown in the first period and was in the top position to start the second period. Regan secured a reversal and earned the fall with 11 seconds remaining in the second period.
Thome, a junior, finished the season 25-9 and ran his career mark to 83-36.
106th EIWA Championships
Stabler Arena, Bethlehem, Pa.
Army Wrestlers
133 Travis Coffey
Saturday, March 6
pinned by Andrew Grabfelder, Columbia, 5:23
def. Jacob Bucha, Franklin & Marshall, 4-3
lost to Cortlandt Choate, Brown, 16-7
Sunday, March 7
SEVENTH-PLACE BOUT: pinned by Thomas Williams, American, 4:49
141 Casey Thome
Saturday, March 6
pinned Ryan Doyle, Columbia, 00:29
lost to Zack Kemmerer, Pennsylvania, 8-1
major dec. over Zachary Kulczycki, Brown, 16-3
lost to Matt Pagan, Navy, 4-1
Sunday, March 7
SEVENTH-PLACE BOUT: pinned by John Regan, Bucknell, 4:49
149 Matt Kyler
Saturday, March 6
def. Hicks Manson, Cornell, 5-3
def. Cesar Grajales, Pennsylvania, 9-4
Sunday, March 7
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS: def. Kevin LeValley, Bucknell, 5-3
184 Collin Wittmeyer
Saturday, March 6
pinned Jesse Boyden, Rutgers, 1:40
pinned by Cannon, American, 1:02
dec. over Kurt Brendel, Princeton, 4-0
pinned Andrew Buck, Navy, 4:57
Sunday, March 7
CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS: pinned by David Craig, Lehigh, 6:59
FIFTH-PLACE BOUT: def. Rob Waltko, Bucknell, 7-4
197 Richard Starks
Saturday, March 6
major dec. over Russell Kropp, Navy, 12-0
lost to Micha Burak, Pennsylvania, 8-5, tb2
Sunday, March 7
CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS: def. Joseph Kennedy, Lehigh, 3-2
THIRD-PLACE BOUT: def. Danial Mitchell, American, 7-2
285 Orion Ross
Saturday, March 6
lost to Kevin Lester, Columbia, 13-3
pinned Mingo Grant, American, 2:00
lost to Tyler Blakely, Pennsylvania, 12-5
Sunday, March 7
SEVENTH-PLACE BOUT: def. Joseph McMullan, 7-5, SV2
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