Wrestling to Compete in NCAA East Region Championships This Weekend at Kutztown
Feb. 22, 2006
KUTZTOWN, Pa. - The No. 8-ranked Shippensburg University wrestling team will head to Kutztown University this weekend to compete in the NCAA Division II East Region Championships on Friday and Saturday at Keystone Hall.
The first session will begin on Friday at 6:00 p.m. On Saturday, session II will begin at 10:00 a.m., with the final session starting at 2:30 p.m. Tickets for Friday night are $6.00 for adults and $4.00 for students and senior citizens while tickets for Saturday are $10.00 for adults and $8.00 for students and seniors.
All-session passes are available for $14.00 for adults and $10.00 for students and seniors.
The Red Raiders (11-8) will be looking to improve upon last year's third-place showing by bringing four nationally-ranked wrestlers who have all won over 20 matches this season. As a team, Shippensburg has won seven of its last 11 matches and finished seventh at last month's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships.
Five of the 11 teams competing in the NCAA East Region Championships are currently ranked in Division II, led by the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown at No. 6. The Red Raiders are at No. 8 followed by No. 9 Mercyhurst College and No. 17 West Liberty State College. Gannon University and Kutztown are both receiving votes in the latest Division II rankings released Wednesday.
Also competing in this weekend's regional are American International College, Anderson College (S.C.), Belmont Abbey College, Limestone College, Newberry College and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
The Red Raiders are 4-5 against teams in the Division II top-20 with wins over the University of Findlay, Fort Hayes State University, Gannon and West Liberty State. Shippensburg was 0-2 versus Pittsburgh-Johnstown and 0-1 against Mercyhurst.
In 2005, Pittsburgh-Johnstown won the team title with 143 points, followed by Mercyhurst and Shippensburg.
The top four wrestlers in each weight class qualify for the 2006 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships held in Findlay, Ohio and hosted by the University of Findlay March 10-11.
The Red Raiders will have four strong contenders to win an individual championships, all of whom are ranked nationally. Red-shirt senior Jake Lininger (Camp Hill, Pa./Lininger) is ranked second at heavyweight and enters this weekend's competition with a team-high 26 wins with a record of 26-3.
Lininger has won 16 of his last 17 matches with his only loss during that time coming to Mike Spaid of Division I Bloomsburg University in the heavyweight final at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships. He is undefeated against Division II competition this season with a 15-0 record. Lininger also has a team-best 12 falls.
Junior Mark Murphy (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern York) enters this weekend ranked No. 3 in the nation at 184 pounds with a 21-7 record, including a mark of 15-1 against Division II competition. He is second on the team with 10 falls and has won his last four matches.
Murphy was seeded second at last year's NCAA East Region Championships where he finished fourth and advanced to the NCAA Championships where he earned All-America honors, finishing fifth.
The defending NCAA champion at 197 pounds, senior Corey Jacoby (Hanover, Pa./Delone Catholic) is ranked fourth. With 110 wins, he is third on the school's career wins list and has a mark of 25-5 this season. Jacoby is 11-3 in tournaments, capturing the 197-pound championship at the East Stroudsburg Open and finishing second at the PSAC Championships.
Jacoby has won his last five-straight matches and is 11-1 against Division II competition with his only loss coming to Jeff Sylvester of the University of Nebraska-Kearney at the Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals. Kearney is currently No. 3 in the nation. Jacoby finished second at the East Region Championships last year.
Red-shirt junior Jamie Thomas (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) enters this weekend's NCAA Division II East Region Championships with a career-best 24-8 record and ranked No. 6 at 125 pounds. He also has a 12-match winning streak which is the longest current streak on the team and the longest this season.
Thomas finished fourth at last year's championships and should enter this year as a favorite behind Ryon Mazzocco of Pittsburgh-Johnstown who won the 125-pound championship in 2005. Thomas and Mazzocco split their two meetings this season.
Other Shippensburg wrestlers to watch this weekend include red-shirt sophomore Dan Nauman (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) at 149 pounds who is 17-13 this year with three falls and three major decisions as well as senior Alex Renn (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) at 141 pounds who enters this weekend with an 11-7 record.
Results from the 2006 NCAA Division East Region Championships can be found here.
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