Four Wrestlers Advance to Semifinals at NCAA East Region Championships
Feb. 24, 2006
KUTZTOWN, Pa. - Four wrestlers from the No. 8-ranked Shippensburg University wrestling team advanced to the semifinals in their respective weight classes Friday night at the NCAA Division II East Region Championships hosted by Kutztown University at Keystone Hall. After the first day of competition, the Red Raiders currently stand in fifth-place with 34 total points.
The University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown is in first-place with 56.5 points, followed Gannon University (47), Mercyhurst College (44), West Liberty State (39) and Shippensburg.
Red-shirt junior Jamie Thomas (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) at 125 pounds, junior Mark Murphy (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern York) at 184, senior Corey Jacoby (Hanover, Pa./Delone Catholic) at 197 and red-shirt senior Jake Lininger (Camp Hill, Pa./Lower Dauphin) at heavyweight all won their first matches to advance to the semifinals.
At 174 pounds, sophomore Rick Mascino (Philadelphia, Pa./North Catholic) won two out of three matches Friday to advance to the semifinals of the consolation bracket.
Lininger, ranked No. 2 in the nation, recorded his team-leading 13th fall of the season when he pinned James Dingle of the University of North Carolina-Pembroke in 1:24. The third-ranked Murphy, who is second on the team in falls behind Lininger, recorded his 11th in 1:06 against Mike Walsh of Limestone College.
The fourth-ranked Jacoby totaled his team-leading seventh major decision with an 11-0 victory over Kalvin Valencia of American International College while Thomas, ranked at No. 6 in Division II, ran his winning streak to 13-straight with his fourth fall of the year, defeating Adam Green of Gannon University in 2:57.
Mascino started off his tournament with his team-leading third technical fall of the season, beating Jared Skinner of Anderson College (S.C.), 18-3. He was then edged in the quarterfinals by seventh-ranked Eli Garshnick of Pittsburgh-Johnstown 3-2 before posting a 3-2 decision over Greg Satterfield of Limestone in the first round of the consolation bracket.
Red-shirt sophomore Dan Nauman (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) lost in the quarterfinals to Chris Chambers of host Kutztown and will start competition on Saturday in the consolation bracket semifinals against Matt Black of Newberry College who posted a 2-1 record on Friday. Nauman handed Black a 15-7 major decision at the East Coast Duals back on January 21.
Also in competition for the Red Raiders on Friday night were red-shirt sophomore Tyler Gilson (Mifflin, Pa./Juniata) at 133, senior Alex Renn (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) at 141, red-shirt freshman Chris Murrary (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) at 157 and sophomore Eric Kauffman (Etters, Pa./Red Land) at 165. However, all four suffered two losses and were eliminated.
On Saturday, session II will begin at 10:00 a.m., with the final session starting at 2:30 p.m. Tickets for Saturday are $10.00 for adults and $8.00 for students and seniors.
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